Anthony Gordon decision made - Our predicted starting XI for Newcastle United to take on Crystal Palace

Newcastle United host Crystal Palace live on Sky Sports on Wednesday night with a 7:30pm kick-off as the Magpies look to slide up into third place in the Premier League.

This game represents Newcastle's game in hand so the Magpies will be back on an even keel with the rest of the Champions League-chasing pack after this game, making it almost imperative that Jason Tindall can lead them to victory.

Avoiding defeat would be enough for Newcastle to go third on goal difference, but a two-point gap would certainly be very welcome.

Mad Dog will be in the dugout again with Eddie Howe expected to miss the next two games at least, and we don't see him making any changes to the lineup again after this same team has won five in a row.

Goalkeeper

Nick Pope - His kicking is actually laughable, but the save from Josua Zirkzee's shot on Sunday is exactly why he's in the side.

Defenders

Kieran Trippier - Trips has rolled back the years recently and is back to his best, let's hope he can keep it up for the rest of the season.

Fabian Schar - Another ageing cog in our backline that is showing no signs of slowing down.

Dan Burn - The big man from Blyth seems to be hitting his peak late in his career and we're here for it.

Tino Livramento - Tino brings the youthful exuberance to the back four and is loving life on the left flank lately.

Midfielders

Bruno Guimaraes (c) - The captain capped off another fine performance on Sunday with a goal putting the false idol Bruno in his place.

Sandro Tonali - Absolutely unstoppable and undroppable right now. Sandro has been our best player for a while now.

Joelinton - Still walking that disciplinary tightrope. If he picks up a yellow card, he might as well get another one and make it a red, as that would be a one-match ban, whereas just the yellow would mean a two-match ban. Seriously, who writes these rules?

Forwards

Jacob Murphy - The assist machine grabbed another one on Sunday and is a good bet to get a goal or assist on Wednesday night for sure.

Alexander Isak - Poor Isak barely got a sniff on Sunday despite Newcastle netting four times. Hopefully, he'll get some service against Palace and bag a goal or two.

Harvey Barnes - Perhaps the only player who would be worried about his place going into this one thanks to Anthony Gordon's return to fitness, but a goal on Monday followed by two on Sunday should be enough to keep him in the side.

Jason Tindall will welcome back Joe Willock who will take a spot on the bench alongside Callum Wilson and Anthony Gordon, all of whom can change the game if needed.

Crystal Palace got off to a flying start against Man City at the weekend before throwing it away, so Newcastle will have to be on their guard as Palace have a habit of ending the season strongly.