The Athletic’s Chris Waugh believes there is a ‘decent chance’ Emil Krafth will start for Newcastle tonight.
The Magpies take on Wolves at St James’ Park, in what is set to be their first home game in more than a month.
Eddie Howe’s side haven’t played at SJP since the 2-1 win over Brighton, losing three of their last four games on the road.
But Newcastle are back in the North East, ready to face a Wolves side that is chasing European qualification.
They’ve had a brilliant season so far, but will be wary of a response from Newcastle after their 5-1 defeat at Spurs last time out.
Javi Manquillo started at right-back last week, but really struggled. Then again, the same could be said for basically every Newcastle player.
But is the Spaniard’s position under threat?
Chris Waugh expects Emil Krafth to start
Speaking on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, Athletic reporter Chris Waugh explained why he expects Manquillo to be replaced by Krafth tonight.
“I think there’s a decent chance that he [Krafth] will [start tonight],” Waugh said.
“Javier Manquillo got hooked, and you could see that Howe wasn’t particularly happy with him certainly for that second goal, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he came into the team.”
Big decision for Howe to make
It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if the 27-year-old replaces Manquillo tonight. As Waugh said, Manquillo was poor against Spurs. He was withdrawn in the 59th minute and replaced by Jacob Murphy.
Recalling Krafth is an option for Howe, who is still waiting for the return of Kieran Trippier. That will hopefully happen this month, but not tonight sadly.
Instead, it’s a toss up between Krafth and Manquillo. The former has played a lot since Trippier’s injury and delivered.
However, Manquillo’s pace might give him an edge up against Wolves’ forward line. Personally, I would stick with the former Liverpool man despite the Tottenham disaster.
After last week’s disappointment, Howe will be expecting a response from his players.
With plenty of options in reserve, he could ring the changes. Bruno Guimaraes is expected to start, and Waugh believes Krafth will be recalled too.
We shall wait and see what team news brings at 7pm…
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