Newcastle Utd are back in home action on Saturday lunchtime when they face Tottenham Hotspurs in a fixture that could go a long way to defining what we can expect in the run in towards the season finale with European places up for grabs.
Newcastle currently sit in 8th place, thirteen points adrift from Spurs in 4th and separated with Aston Villa, Man Utd and West Ham currently sitting in berths that offer the possibility of European football next season.
Thirteen points may seem to wide a gap to bridge with only seven games left but when you drill down and see that Spurs still have to face off against, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City, a chink of light for those below them starts to appear.
That is why, in some quarters the more optimistic are looking at this fixture as a six pointer for the magpies and a springboard to go into their final six games with something to chase and plenty to play for.
Howe’s injury table gained a couple of new squatters in the shape of Lewis Hall and Joe Willock this week and he didn’t sound too optimistic that either player would be available for selection.
And speaking to the press on Friday Howe had this to say regarding Willock: "Joe has been to see another specialist to check on the progress of his Achilles which has been problematic for him. It's been a difficult injury as there has been a few complications.
"The feedback was positive generally in respect that it is healing. But it will fluctuate from time to time. There will be moments it won't feel so good.”
"For Tottenham, I probably think he won't be available. There's a chance he will be available for the rest of the season but that is unclear. We need to make sure the long-term prognosis is positive and that might mean a short period of rest."
Howe also addressed the absence of Lewis Hall saying: "Lewis has a tightness in his quad. No muscle pull directly but enough to see him miss training this week. He's a doubt for the game."
With these two adding to the long-term absentees Howe really is down to the bare bones and may be forced to call on young Alex Murphy as defensive cover. Murphy was on the bench last weekend against Fulham but was not called upon, as Howe opted for the experience of Paul Dummett when replacing the injured Hall in the dying minutes as Newcastle saw out the final few minutes of the game.
However, Howe may see the youngster as a better option to counter the pace of Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson who operate on the wide berths, feeding passes into Spurs main striker Son Heung-min and the deeper lying James Maddison.
Another change from last weekend could see Howe unleash £145m worth of talent in the form of Barnes, Isak and Gordon from the start, rather than holding Barnes back as an option from the bench.
Sadly for him there will be no return for former magpie Fraser Forster this time round as he is ruled out through injury; as too is Ryan Sessegnon.
The match Referee is Tim Robinson, and his Assistants are Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn. Fourth official is Oliver Langford and the VAR officials this week are Stuart Attwell and his assistant Sian Massey-Ellis.
And for anyone interested in stats, heat maps, kilometers ran and passes and tackles completed, there is an interesting piece on the premier league website that focusses on Bruno Guimarães and why he is one of the league’s best all-round midfielders.
You can find it here - https://www.premierleague.com/news/3961571
And remember; its a 12:30pm KO
Newcastle currently sit in 8th place, thirteen points adrift from Spurs in 4th and separated with Aston Villa, Man Utd and West Ham currently sitting in berths that offer the possibility of European football next season.
Thirteen points may seem to wide a gap to bridge with only seven games left but when you drill down and see that Spurs still have to face off against, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City, a chink of light for those below them starts to appear.
That is why, in some quarters the more optimistic are looking at this fixture as a six pointer for the magpies and a springboard to go into their final six games with something to chase and plenty to play for.
Howe’s injury table gained a couple of new squatters in the shape of Lewis Hall and Joe Willock this week and he didn’t sound too optimistic that either player would be available for selection.
And speaking to the press on Friday Howe had this to say regarding Willock: "Joe has been to see another specialist to check on the progress of his Achilles which has been problematic for him. It's been a difficult injury as there has been a few complications.
"The feedback was positive generally in respect that it is healing. But it will fluctuate from time to time. There will be moments it won't feel so good.”
"For Tottenham, I probably think he won't be available. There's a chance he will be available for the rest of the season but that is unclear. We need to make sure the long-term prognosis is positive and that might mean a short period of rest."
Howe also addressed the absence of Lewis Hall saying: "Lewis has a tightness in his quad. No muscle pull directly but enough to see him miss training this week. He's a doubt for the game."
With these two adding to the long-term absentees Howe really is down to the bare bones and may be forced to call on young Alex Murphy as defensive cover. Murphy was on the bench last weekend against Fulham but was not called upon, as Howe opted for the experience of Paul Dummett when replacing the injured Hall in the dying minutes as Newcastle saw out the final few minutes of the game.
However, Howe may see the youngster as a better option to counter the pace of Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson who operate on the wide berths, feeding passes into Spurs main striker Son Heung-min and the deeper lying James Maddison.
Another change from last weekend could see Howe unleash £145m worth of talent in the form of Barnes, Isak and Gordon from the start, rather than holding Barnes back as an option from the bench.
Sadly for him there will be no return for former magpie Fraser Forster this time round as he is ruled out through injury; as too is Ryan Sessegnon.
The match Referee is Tim Robinson, and his Assistants are Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn. Fourth official is Oliver Langford and the VAR officials this week are Stuart Attwell and his assistant Sian Massey-Ellis.
And for anyone interested in stats, heat maps, kilometers ran and passes and tackles completed, there is an interesting piece on the premier league website that focusses on Bruno Guimarães and why he is one of the league’s best all-round midfielders.
You can find it here - https://www.premierleague.com/news/3961571
And remember; its a 12:30pm KO
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