Eddie Howe to resist urge to change: Our predicted Newcastle United XI to take on Nottingham Forest on Sunday
Eddie Howe will be hoping his Newcastle United side can build on their impressive 4-0 win away from home in the Champions League as Nottingham Forest come to town on Sunday. Kick-off is 2 pm, live on Sky Sports.
Newcastle looked very dangerous on Wednesday in Brussels, and while half of their goals did come from the penalty spot, the fact that the Magpies were constantly threatening was hugely encouraging.
The 'first-choice' front three of Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade looked especially dangerous, and with that in mind, along with the fact that hardly anybody put a foot wrong, we're expecting Howe to resist the urge to make any changes.
The only change we toyed with was maybe putting Lewis Hall in at left-back ahead of Dan Burn, but we're not sure that Eddie Howe would do that. So we're going unchanged. Of the currently available players, we believe this gives us the best chance of a win, even if they all just played on Wednesday night.
Goalkeeper
Nick Pope - Another clean sheet to add to the collection on Wednesday, and it's not like he didn't have saves to make; he did do a job.
Defenders
Kieran Trippier - Tripps will be set for an extended run in the side due to Tino Livramento's injury, but he's looking back to his best, so we have no worries.
Malick Thiaw - Fabian Schar may be back in contention, but Thiaw has been simply magnificent in his absence. Dropping him would be cruel.
Sven Botman - Rapidly returning to his best and reminding us all why he was called Rolls-Royce for so long. Looks like he and Thiaw are going to be a solid partnership.
Dan Burn - We'd prefer Lewis Hall, but Eddie Howe is taking his time with the young England star, so we expect BDB to keep his place.
Midfielders
Bruno Guimaraes (c) - This midfield three would play with one leg if they were asked, so playing thrice in seven days won't bother any of them.
Sandro Tonali - Tonali made another gut-busting run late in the game on Wednesday, showing just how crazy his fitness levels are. He'll be ready to go again.
Joelinton - Jacob Ramsey is expected to be back on the bench, and he's the biggest threat to this midfield trio, particularly J7, so he will know he has to perform.
Forwards
Anthony Elanga - Eddie Howe could go either way with Elanga and Jacob Murphy, but after a Player of the Match performance on Wednesday, Elanga should be rewarded with another shot in the starting XI.
Nick Woltemade - The man in form. As long as he's fit and ready, there's no reason to even think about dropping him, but Will Osula is proving himself to be a useful backup.
Anthony Gordon - We were reminded on Wednesday of how good Gordon can be. Now he just needs to maintain that level.
Will Osula, Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes can change the tide of the attack and bringing Lewis Hall and Lewis Miley into the game can change the approach.
Eddie Howe has options if things need to change, but with this starting lineup, we have a good chance of dictating the flow of the game.
