Newcastle United training ground twist ahead of FA Cup clash despite Eddie Howe comments

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Newcastle United are preparing to face Brighton in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Magpies are aiming to play at Wembley Stadium twice in the same season but must overcome a tough Brighton side who have won their last three Premier League games.

It’s a different story for Newcastle United, who have lost four of their last five league games but endured a spectacular run of form before that, including a run of nine straight wins in all competitions.

Toon boss Eddie Howe will be keen to avenge the 1-0 defeat his side suffered to the Seagulls in October during a time when he seemingly couldn’t buy a win for his side. It’s a completely different story now, however, with both teams performing well in the league.

Newcastle’s game against Brighton will also be one of the last before the Carabao Cup final later in March. Toon fans will travel to the capital to watch their side take on Liverpool at Wembley, hoping they will see them lift the trophy after heartbreak two years ago.

With the important FA Cup tie just a day away, three Newcastle players were noticeably absent from Friday’s training photos.

Sven Botman, Joelinton and Alexander Isak not spotted in training pictures

Newcastle have struggled with injury problems as of late, and things got worse when Alexander Isak was left out of the squad for the defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Isak’s injury problem is not thought to be a serious one but it was still enough to force him out of the game. Howe admitted he hadn’t seen Isak since the game and was going to access him on Friday.

Howe confirmed that Sven Botman and Joelinton would train on Friday after the pair missed most of February with knee problems.

However, when the training photos were released on Newcastle’s website, there was no sign of any of them. By no means does this confirm that they will miss out on the game considering what Howe said in his pre-match press conference.

Botman and Joelinton were ‘very close’ and ‘close’ before the Liverpool game, so there is still a good chance that Howe has redeployed the dark arts and is concealing any involvement for players who are due to return to the squad.

Elsewhere, Tino Livramento and Nick Pope were absent from recent training ground photos. Newcastle fans slammed Pope for his performance against Nottingham Forest last Sunday and failed to impress in the Liverpool defeat, causing fans to cry for Martin Dubravka’s return to the starting XI.

Newcastle academy players spotted in training

Howe has been known for giving youth a chance in cup games and in training. Fans have spotted several stars from Newcastle’s academy in first-team training this season, the latest round of training ground photos was a similar story.

Two young stars, Leo Shahar and Sean Neave were spotted in training on Friday. Neave was named on the bench for Newcastle’s win against Birmingham City in the last round of the FA Cup and could feature once again if he has done enough to impress Howe.

Neave has trained with Newcastle for the last few weeks, he was recently spotted in training ahead of the game against Manchester City in February but was not named in the squad for it.

Shahar has also trained with the first team in recent weeks but is still yet to make a matchday squad.