Eddie Howe will make at least one change to Newcastle United’s starting lineup for tonight’s match against West Ham United (kick-off 5:30pm).
Following his red card in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final win over Southampton, Newcastle will be without key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes for the next three games.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” Howe said. “I believe he’s a huge player who has done exceptionally well for us. When you lose a player, you have to re-adjust, and this is an opportunity for the team to regroup and find another way forward.
“The timing is extremely difficult. We had a really intense game period, and now we don’t. Bruno appears to be absent for an extended period of time, but the good news is that he will be present for the final. We have three big Premier League games coming up.”
So, who will replace the Brazilian? With Joelinton expected to return to the three-man midfield, Allan Saint-Maximin, Jacob Murphy, and new signing Anthony Gordon enter the fray.
Here is the starting lineup we expect Howe to name for the Magpies:
1. Nick Pope, goalkeeperHe conceded against Southampton for the first time since November, but a clean sheet today would be his seventh in a row in the Premier League.
1. Goalkeeper: Nick Pope
He conceded for the first time since November against Southampton, but a clean sheet today would be his seventh in a row in the Premier League.
Fabian Schar, CB
This season, Newcastle has yet to clean a game that Schar has started. We’ve said it before, but the Swiss defender is truly an unsung hero.
Sven Botman, CB
Summer commitment Botman and Schar have formed an incredible center-back partnership that is statistically the best in the division.
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