Eddie Howe is expected to make changes to his Newcastle United lineup for the Champions League clash with AC Milan on Tuesday.
The Newcastle boss mixed up his starting XI against Brentford on Saturday, and it paid off. The players he brought in made a huge difference, with Callum Wilson scoring the winner.
Howe’s side were able to get back to winning ways, and will travel to Milan with confidence as they begin their Champions League journey.
It is going to be an extremely difficult game at the San Siro, and this is the Newcastle lineup we expect Howe to pick against AC Milan
Kieran Trippier captains Newcastle in the Champions League
For the first time in 20 years, Newcastle are playing in the Champions League, and they will be led out at the San Siro by Kieran Trippier.
He will captain the Magpies in Milan, as Howe makes no changes to his defence.
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Newcastle kept a clean sheet on Saturday, and will be desperate to do the same on Tuesday night. They looked much more comfortable at the back against Brentford, with Sven Botman’s return making a huge difference.
Sandro Tonali starts for Newcastle against his old club
Sandro Tonali was only fit enough for the bench on Saturday, but he is expected to start against his former club.
The 23-year-old joined Newcastle from AC Milan this summer, and the Italian is already heading back. He will return to the midfield alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff.
That means Elliot Anderson will drop to the bench, despite a solid performance at the weekend.
Elsewhere, Joelinton will miss the game due to injury. Joe Willock is also ruled out.
Eddie Howe changes his forward line vs AC Milan
Another change Howe is expected to make sees Alexander Isak return to the starting lineup. He did not play a single minute of the 1-0 win over Brentford.
But the Swede is set to start at the San Siro, which means Callum Wilson will be left out. That seems very harsh given how well he did on Saturday evening.
Elsewhere, Miguel Almiron should return as well. He will likely replace summer signing Harvey Barnes, allowing Anthony Gordon to start on the left flank.
While Barnes did well on Saturday, Howe will probably prefer to start Almiron at the San Siro because of his defensive contributions and his tactical awareness.
Predicted XI vs AC Milan: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Bruno, Tonali; Almiron, Isak, Gordon.