Just when it seemed nothing could go wrong for Rafa Benitez’s men, they suffered two back to back defeats in the Championship and in EFL Cup. Benitez’s gamble of resting players didn’t pay off well against Blackburn Rovers and the Magpies were unfortunate to get knocked out on penalties against Hull City in the midweek.
However, Newcastle United still hold their top position in the Championship and their next fixture, against Nottingham Forest, could be the perfect platform to get back to winning ways.
Although their five points comfortable lead at the top has been reduced to two points with Brighton dangerously close to them, Magpies away record boasts of brilliance this season so far. They have now collected 22 points from 9 away games, which is way more than any other team.
Defence
Benitez gave a chance to Mats Sels in the midweek fixture and the Belgian did well before getting beaten in the penalty shootout. We expect Karl Darlow to take his position against Nottingham Forest.
Benitez won’t make any more experiments this time hopefully and stick to his regular four at the back- Paul Dummett, Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark and DeAndre Yedlin. However, Anita started in the right back position ahead of Yedlin against Hull City and we expect him to start against Nottingham Forest as well. Dummett was rested in the midweek and is sure to start this time
Lascelles has been just outstanding this season, a very disciplined and composed figure at the back. A suspension for Dummett is inevitable as he has already seen 4 yellow cards and it is just a matter of time before that happens. Ciaran Clark has been solid at the back, forming the backbone of the team.
Midfield
Newcastle’s star midfielder, Jack Colback, is out with an eye injury and is very much doubtful for the match against Forest. Apart from that, the rest pretty played their part against Hull and were unlucky to be knocked out. It was surprising though that Magpies’ vibrant midfield couldn’t unlock the Tiger’s defence in 90 minutes.
Benitez is expected to start with Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Yoan Gouffran in the middle four. They still have the likes of Christian Atsu and Cheik Tioté on the bench, which speaks of their depth.
Attack
We expect Benitez to continue his rotation up front this time too. With Dwight Gayle and Mo Diame starting against Hull, we expect him to pick Aleksandar Mitrovic to start in front of Ayoze Perez this time.
