Eddie Howe to deploy £39m Anthony Gordon alternative: Our predicted XI as Newcastle United take on West Ham United

Newcastle United head to the Big Smoke for a Monday night kick-off at 8pm against West Ham United live on Sky Sports.

Eddie Howe is missing some big names for this one with Lewis Hall out for the season, Sven Botman out for at least eight weeks and of course, Anthony Gordon suspended for the next three games.

That leaves the gaffer with some big calls to make, which in turn, leaves us with some guesswork as to who will play where on Monday night as we try and predict the starting XI.

As the one with the power, I've stuck with my first draft, but the debate rages on in NUFC Feed Towers over a few players and positions.

Goalkeeper

Martin Dubravka - Already we've reached a point of contention with Mark expecting Howe to reinstate Nick Pope. I'm expecting Dubravka to play in the final next week and as such, Howe will want to make sure he's still the one for the job by putting him in on Monday night.

Defenders

Kieran Trippier - My thinking is that Howe will stick with the same back four that started against Brighton last week with Tripps on the right and Tino Livramento on the left.

Fabian Schar - The centre back pairing will be the same due to a lack of any real options.

Dan Burn - Saying that, we wouldn't be dropping Burn anyway, he's earned his spot this season.

Tino Livramento - It was either Tripps and Tino or Tino and Matt Targett, but we're not sure if Matt Targett has earned a starting place yet in the absence of Lewis Hall.

Midfielders

Bruno Guimaraes (c) - The Brazilian brought Newcastle back into the game when he came off the bench against Brighton. Hopefully he can bring that same impact on Monday from the start.

Sandro Tonali - It's at the point now where the Italian owes us a good performance, he has been slacking lately.

Joelinton - Recalled to the Brazil squad, he should be feeling good about himself and therefore a good option to start. Although Rich is thinking Joey at LW for this one with Joe Willock taking this spot.

Forwards

Jacob Murphy - Supa Murph needs to find that form that saw him being touted for an England call up last month, he's been back to his old self again but with nobody threatening his place, it's not hard to see why.

Alexander Isak - There was talk in the office of Callum Wilson starting, after all, he does love a goal against the Hammers, but Isak needs minutes to be sure he's at his best for next week. Also Howe says "if he's fit, he plays".

Harvey Barnes - Anthony Gordon's suspension is the perfect opportunity for Barnes to make his mark. Although Rich is making a strong case for Barnes to remain on the bench for his usual late impact with Joelinton on the left and Willock in the middle.

Newcastle will have West Ham's nemesis on the bench in Callum Wilson as well as Joe Willock (or Harvey Barnes if Rich is right). Lewis Miley will also be on the bench, who can add something different.

Other than that, though, there's not a lot of game-changing depth available so we'll have to make sure we get the job done and not have to rely on the bench.