OPINION
Newcastle United had to resort to extra time on Tuesday in order to beat Blackburn 4-2 in a FA Cup third round replay, and they are no doubt hoping that it will not be as hard to beat Cardiff on Saturday.
Rafa Benitez had his youngsters to be partly thankful for in mid week as Sean Longstaff and Cal Roberts netted in what turned out to be a resounding win.
However, despite the good effort the team put in on Tuesday, Benitez must make five changes to the side to face the Bluebirds this weekend if he is to pull his side out of the relegation zone in the Premier League, with the defence needing the most changes due to some injuries that may leave some players sidelined.
In goal, Martin Dubravka must take hold of his number one spot in place of Freddie Woodman, who has proved he is a quality replacement.
The next two changes must come in the defence, especially as Benitez said there have been slight injuries to centre-backs Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles. Federico Fernandez must keep his place, while Fabian Schar should come in to play alongside him.
DeAndre Yedlin – who is a regular in the first team with 20 appearances – must return to the right-back role at the expense of Jamie Sterry, while Javier Manquillo would have to keep his place at left-back due to Paul Dummett still being sidelined.
In the midfield, Isaac Hayden should keep his place alongside youngster Sean Longstaff, who has excelled in the last few matches he has featured in.
Jacob Murphy demonstrated some quality playing on the right wing for the Magpies, so there is no reason why he should be replaced – this means that Matt Ritchie must play on the left.
As much as Cal Roberts impressed on Tuesday, he is not quite ready to be risked against Cardiff, so Ayoze Perez must take over, while the abysmal Joselu must be dropped for Salomon Rondon, who is likely to pose much more of a threat.
If Benitez makes the right decisions regarding the starting XI on Saturday, then his team would be able to overcome Cardiff with ease.
