The Newcastle United tour continues this weekend, as we go from the San Siro to Bramall Lane.
Following the 0-0 draw with AC Milan in the Champions League, Newcastle now turn their attention back to the Premier League. They face a tricky away day on Sunday, with Eddie Howe’s side facing Sheffield United.
The newly promoted side are yet to win this season, but might fancy their chances up against a tired Toon side who had to work extremely hard for their Champions League point on Tuesday night.
Eddie Howe needs to rotate his side, and this is the Newcastle starting lineup we expect him to go with against Sheffield United
No changes at the back for Newcastle
For the first time sine January, Newcastle have kept back-to-back clean sheets.
They defended magnificently at the San Siro, with Kieran Trippier producing a brilliant performance. However, the Magpies did also have to rely on Nick Pope, who managed to make eight saves to deny AC Milan.
Newcastle appear to have got their mojo back defensively, which should mean Howe sticks with the same back five for the trip to Bramall Lane.
Sandro Tonali dropped against Sheffield United
The Newcastle midfield looked much more comfortable against Brentford, which is why we anticipate that Howe will go with the same trio for the clash with Sheffield United.
That means Elliot Anderson is recalled, having impressed Howe with his cameo off the bench at the San Siro. He nearly created a winner for Newcastle, only for Sean Longstaff’s stoppage time effort to be saved.
With Anderson potentially coming back into the side, Sandro Tonali would then find himself back on the bench.
Tuesday night was an emotional occasion for the 23-year-old, but he was largely a passenger on his San Siro return.
While Tonali is obviously a ‘quality‘ player, Howe should go with Anderson over him on Sunday. It is important that the Newcastle manager rotates, and Anderson deserves a run in the side.
Callum Wilson leads the line for Eddie Howe’s side
We predict that Callum Wilson will win back his place in the starting XI this weekend.
Alexander Isak looked shattered against AC Milan, while Wilson is in great form after scoring the winner against Brentford.
We anticipate that the £20million striker will be flanked by Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon, who will provide pace out wide just like they did in our previous Premier League game.
Prediced XI vs Sheffield United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Bruno, Anderson; Gordon, Wilson, Barnes.
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