Newcastle United are set to face Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday and Rafa Benitez isn’t expected to tinker too much with his team.
The Magpies’ winning streak may have coming to a grinding halt courtesy of West Ham on Saturday but the Spanish manager is unlikely to ring in the changes against a high-flying Toffees side.
Marco Silva’s side going into their clash with the Magpies sat sixth in the Premier League and Benitez will want to ensure he fields a side that can cope with his opponent’s attacking threat.
This means Javier Manquillo, who earns £35,000-a-week (Spotrac), is likely to be the first change Benitez makes to the team that started against the Hammers as the left-back failed to impress on a rare outing.
The Spanish manager is expected to turn to Ciaran Clark, who shone bright against Burnley, with Paul Dummett still a doubt (Source: Chronicle) as the usual central defender has played left-back before.
Given that Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez did well aside from Javier Hernandez’s opening goal for the Hammers on Saturday, it’s like that Benitez keeps them in his starting line-up as well as sticks with DeAndre Yedlin on his right flank.
These four defenders will of course likely play in front of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka as it’s very unlikely that the Spanish manager will even consider dropping one of the club’s standout performers.
Kenedy is likely to start of the left-flank due to his potential on the counter-attack and after replacing Matt Ritchie during the clash with the Hammers, the Spanish manager is expected to hand Christian Atsu a rare opportunity to feature on the other flank.
The winger has been sparingly used by Benitez this season, as he has played only 232 minutes across eight league appearances, but with Ritchie suspended for the clash with the Toffees, the Spanish manager needs to make his second change to his last starting line-up.
While Jonjo Shelvey made a cameo appearance against the Toffees, given Benitez’s nature, Mohamed Diame and Ki Sung-Yueng are more defensive minded midfielders so likely keep their place in the team due to the prospect of facing a tough Everton side.
Finally Benitez is likely to stick with Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon despite both not striking against the Hammers as his options in both the No.10 position and No.9 are limited to say the least.
