Newcastle will pray for a return to winning ways when they host Nottingham Forest at St James’ Park on Boxing Day.
The Magpies suffered a fifth defeat in six outings in all competitions on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 at Luton, leaving Eddie Howe’s side seven points off the top four with just under half of the 2023/23 Premier League season played.
Howe has legions of injuries to contend with and the starting XI he deploys for Nuno Espirito Santo and Forest’s visit could be very similar to those he has sent out in recent weeks.
Here’s the team he could pick to grab a desperately-needed three points.
GK: Martin Dubravka – Made four saves in defeat at Luton after being confronted by a fan in the Carabao Cup exit at Chelsea in midweek.
RB: Kieran Trippier – Was much more assured on Saturday than he has been in recent defeats to Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton.
CB: Sven Botman – Should Jamaal Lascelles not recover from a knock in time, Dutchman Sven Botman is in line for a first start since the 8-0 September thrashing of Sheffield United.
CB: Fabian Schar – Has suffered his own injury scare of late but is available for Howe.
LB: Dan Burn – Admitted his side were “outworked” in defeat at Luton and the big Geordie won’t want that happening again at home to Forest on Tuesday.
CM: Sean Longstaff – Newcastle hope Joelinton will soon be fit again but for now, Longstaff will provide the physical presence in midfield.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – Pretty dominant in midfield at Kenilworth Road but ultimately couldn’t unlock a resilient Luton defence.
CM: Lewis Hall – Still has work to do to make sure his move from Chelsea becomes permanent but should get more minutes over the festive period due to Newcastle’s fitness woes.
RW: Miguel Almiron – Remains as industrious as ever but faces a tough task of bettering his league goal tally of 11 last year this time around, having netted just three times approaching the halfway point.
ST: Alexander Isak – Came off the bench in the first half against Luton and may replace Callum Wilson from the off if a more direct approach is taken by Howe.
LW: Anthony Gordon – Is on track to hit double figures for both league goals and assists, notching six and four so far in 2023/24 respectively.
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