Newcastle United will host Arsenal at St James’ Park this evening in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash, battling it out for another trip to Wembley.
The Magpies are back in action tonight for their most season-defining fixture of the 2024/25 campaign so far, with a two-goal deficit already in their favour, the dreams of Wembley are very much alive.
It will be the second trip to London for a cup final under Eddie Howe if they can get the job done tonight, and both the manager and the squad know exactly what they need to do to get there.
At the Emirates, Newcastle were calm, confident and comfortable in their dismantling of the title-challenging Gunners away from home, doing the same in front of the home support tonight should, in theory, be a much easier feat.
Having said that, the Geordies have not been at their best in the last few weeks with inconsistency creeping back into their league performances, seen at St James’ Park last weekend against Fulham.
Howe must find a way to overcome the lethargic state that his side seems to adopt in the second half of their fixtures, as Arsenal do possess the quality and the confidence after their victory over Man City last weekend, to cause chaos if not.
In terms of injuries, Jamaal Lascelles and Harvey Barnes remain ruled out of the matchday squad this evening with the latter not set to return before the final week of February.
The Newcastle boss did take the opportunity in his pre-match press conference yesterday to give a positive update on Callum Wilson’s potential to return imminently but he will be subjected to a late fitness test.
Howe told the media:
“Callum will be there or thereabouts. He has trained a couple of times and looked good. I will speak to everyone connected with [him] about his welfare and make sure we involve him at the right time.”
The more concerning injury doubt this week is that of Brazilian warrior Joelinton, who has been spotted with his leg in a knee brace after being forced off the pitch against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Howe confirmed the midfield would be a doubt for the Arsenal clash:
“Joey had a knee brace on as a precaution. I would say he is a doubt, but we will give him every chance to be fit.”
How could Newcastle line up against Arsenal?
Nothing but Newcastle predicts that Eddie Howe will make three changes to the starting eleven he led out against Fulham on Saturday, maintaining his classic 4-3-3 formation as always.
We expect to see two changes in the defensive set up, with Nick Pope returning to his number one position in goal after a full recovery from injury meaning that Martin Dubravka will miss out on the second leg.
The second change we predict is Sven Botman’s return to the centre-back partnership alongside Fabian Schar after being rested for Dan Burn in the Premier League at the weekend.
Although Burn played a huge part in Newcastle’s incredible patch of form recently, he will likely be part of the squad heading to Birmingham for the FA Cup clash on Saturday evening against Birmingham City.
Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento retain their spots in the fullback roles to complete the defending line, though Kieran Trippier will likely be on the bench and potentially introduced in the second-half of the clash depending on the score line.
In midfield, it remains unclear as to whether Joelinton will feature this evening though his compatriot Bruno Guimaraes will lead Newcastle in their efforts to progress this evening, while Sandro Tonali also remains a crucial and un-droppable feature in the team.
It is likely that Joe Willock will feature on the left-side of the midfield trio to replace Joelinton tonight, the former Arsenal man has shown glimmers of his huge quality this season and could knock out his old club if he can bring his best tonight.
We predict the front three will remain unchanged with Jacob Murphy starting on the right, Anthony Gordon on the left and Alexander Isak through the middle to complete the starting line up against Arsenal.
There is a real opportunity to be had here for Newcastle and with a two goal lead over their competitors they are in a great position to progress, with a strong starting line up and the home support behind them, the dreams of Wembley can become reality once again.
