Garang Kuol starts against A-League All Stars - Newcastle team news is in

Newcastle United play their second game of their Australian adventure this morning as they take on the A-League All Stars - Kick-off is at 8:05am UK Time.

Eddie Howe has gone with a very youthful starting XI for this one after starting with a strong XI to face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

With five big players having left the squad already for international duty and wedding planning, Howe's turned to his young guns to see what they can do.

Aussie Garang Kuol gets his first start and only his second outing since joining the club in 2022 as he faces off against the All-Stars for whom he played during a friendly with Barcelona just a couple of years ago.

The Chronicle

Eddie Howe has put out a much-changed squad

Only Lewis Hall, Kieran Trippier and Elliot Anderson from the first-squad are on the bench for this one with Howe keen to not use Trippier due to his England commitments.

There are plenty of recognisable names in the team, though with Harrison Ashby, Joe White. Ben Parkinson, Alex Murphy and Wednesday's penalty hero Mark Gillespie all starting.

Travis Hernes and Amadou Diallo also get starts after making very brief cameos this season.

Newcastle return home after this game

This game brings the curtain down on the Australian tour that has courted much controversy since it was announced with the team jetting off back to England later on.

Time will tell how successful the trip has been in terms of growing the global brand and also in highlighting the ridiculous lengths clubs must now go to in order to free up transfer budget thanks to Financial Fair Play.

There haven't been many times in my life that I've set an alarm to watch Newcastle United. In fact, this might be a first. Howay Eddie Howe's Bleary-Eyed Mags!