Howe could be foolish to bench Saint-Maximin against Everton after February masterclass

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Newcastle return to Premier League action on Thursday night to face Everton.

The Magpies are looking to bounce back from a bitterly disappointing defeat against Chelsea on Sunday.

The club’s unbeaten run finally came to an end at Stamford Bridge, with Kai Havertz’s late goal proving to be the difference.

There was an argument for Havertz to have been sent off for his elbow on Dan Burn earlier in the game.

Newcastle also should have had a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah’s challenge on Jacob Murphy in the penalty area.

Hopefully, the painful result will serve as Newcastle’s motivation against a struggling Everton side on Thursday.

The Toffees are in serious trouble at the moment, and sit just a point above the relegation zone.

Frank Lampard is already under huge pressure, and Newcastle winning them game would be massively significant for both teams.

It will be interesting to see Eddie Howe’s team.

And it will be particularly interesting to see if Allan Saint-Maximin is back in the starting XI.

The Frenchman was back in the matchday squad against Chelsea. He started on the bench, coming on for Miguel Almiron with around 20 minutes to go.

Saint-Maximin has just recovered from a calf injury and also illness which ruled him out of the Southampton clash.

He has therefore not started a game for over a month for the Magpies.

Howe certainly has some thinking to do ahead of the game with Everton, whom Saint-Maximin absolutely destroyed last month.

Eddie Howe may overlook loyalty in favour of Saint-Maximin start vs Everton

Newcastle have managed just fine without Saint-Maximin starting games of late.

Jacob Murphy deserves big credit for the way he has come in and applied himself.

Ryan Fraser has also really stepped up, and was among the nominees for the Premier League’s Player of the Month for February.

Howe has shown he is very much someone that likes to stick with players who are in form.

We have seen it with the midfield and how Bruno Guimaraes has had to be patient since his January arrival.

But what Saint-Maximin did against Everton last time out might just force the manager to make a ruthless decision.

It is very hard to ignore how good he was that night and how much trouble he gave the Everton defence.

After that game, Frank Lampard admitted that the winger had been ‘unplayable’ (via Sky Sports).

He’s already seen the damage he can cause, so perhaps it is time for ASM to come back in, as harsh as that would be on Murphy, Fraser or Almiron.