Newcastle United will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches as they face off against Brentford today.
The Magpies are on a terrific run of form in the division that has lifted them out of the bottom three in the table, with three straight wins over Everton, Aston Villa and Leeds United propelling them above the likes of Norwich, Watford and Burnley.
Their last match ended in a 1-1 draw away at West Ham and Eddie Howe is surely hoping that his side can return to winning ways against the Bees.
Axe him
One decision the ex-Bournemouth manager must make in order to give his team the best chance of picking up the three points is ruthlessly axing Emil Krafth from the XI.
The Swedish full-back started at right-back with Kieran Trippier and Javier Manquillo both out injured and failed to make a positive impression.
As per SofaScore, he lost three of his five duels and failed to make a single tackle, block or interception throughout the 90 minutes, whilst making just two clearances. He also gave possession away (18) almost as many times as he completed a pass (20).
Former Arsenal icon Ian Wright previously blasted the defender as being “out of his depth” and ex-Magpies defender Steve Howey reacted to his comments, saying:
“I think the lad has struggled a bit, but he’s not the only one. He has been criticised very heavily, I think from Ian Wright, who said he was well out of his depth.
“There have been times when he’s had an afternoon of turmoil but listen, he could be a player that comes back in next season and gets better.”
Unfortunately for Howey and Newcastle, Krafth has not kicked on this season and improved on his troubling displays on the pitch.
Instead, he has continued to be a liability on the pitch in the Premier League this season as he has averaged a dreadful WhoScored rating of 6.31. This is lower than the score of 6.47 he managed in the top-flight last term, which suggests that he has struggled throughout the campaign.
Howe has confirmed that Manquillo has returned to training and the Spaniard is one option to replace Krafth, although it remains to be seen whether he is fit enough to start. The head coach could also bring Jacob Murphy back into right-back and play Miguel Almiron out wide if Allan Saint-Maximin misses out.
AND in other news, Howe could unearth Coloccini 2.0 in “commanding” NUFC tank, he’s “captain” material…