OPINION
Newcastle United continued their poor start to the season as they crashed out of the League Cup to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, and things are not set to get any easier with a visit to defending champions Manchester City coming on Saturday.
The Magpies looked like they may have saved themselves after Salomon Rondon equalised in injury time, but two Forest goals in three minutes after that sealed a dramatic exit.
The Toon now face the toughest test of their Premier League season so far as they travel to the Etihad to face City, who will be keen to get back on track after a draw against Wolves last weekend.
Benitez will have to get his team selection spot on if he wants to come away with any kind of result against City, and that will involve wholesale changes from the side that lost to Forest.
In goal, Martin Dubravka must come back into the side for Karl Darlow.
In defence, Benitez must again plump with a back three against a big side, just as he did against Chelsea, with Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles making up that unit, with Jamie Sterry and Ciaran Clark axed.
In midfield, the wing-backs must be Paul Dummett on the left and DeAndre Yedlin on the right, with midfield general Jonjo Shelvey joining Mo Diame in the central positions should he recover from injury in time. That means Ki Sung-yueng, Christian Atsu and Sean Longstaff see the axe.
And finally, in attack, Benitez must go with Matt Ritchie on the right, Jacob Murphy on the left, and Salomon Rondon up front, with Kenedy, Yoshinori Muto, and Joselu dropping out of the side.
All in all this means nine changes for the Magpies as they prepare to take on the defending champions and jumpstart their season with a positive result at the Etihad.
