Lewis Hall absent from squad: Eddie Howe makes many changes as he names Newcastle United side to take on Fulham
Newcastle United host Fulham tonight in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, looking to make it three semi-final appearances in the competition under Eddie Howe.
Hopefully, enough time has passed for the players between Sunday and now that they can fully focus on the task at hand, although we dare say that's unlikely to be the case for supporters who will be demanding a performance tonight. Newcastle have already beaten Fulham at St James' Park this season, so a repeat of that would be nice.
Eddie Howe had some big calls to make with his team selection after the abject performances across the board at the Stadium of Light. Additionally, the squad is a tad depleted, particularly in the defensive areas, which may have forced the gaffer into a rethink.
Howe has called upon a couple of youngsters to flesh out his squad tonight, but will any of them get on the pitch?
Eddie Howe's decided defenders are optional
Howe has gone bigger than we expected with the changes, dropping Lewis Hall, who doesn't make the squad, which is a worry. That leaves just Malick Thiaw, Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento as the defenders in the starting eleven with Leo Shahar and Alex Murphy on the bench.
Up front, Howe has dropped Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga in favour of Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy. We thought Gordon would have survived the cull, but clearly not.
Yoane Wissa makes his first start for Newcastle United since his £55 million summer switch, with Nick Woltemade relegated to the bench alongside Sean Neave.
Joe Willock in the starting XI is always a cause for concern lately
Bruno Guimaraes captains the side with Jacob Ramsey, Lewis Miley, and Joe Willock named alongside him. We expect one of those may be playing out of position to help out the defence, though, likely Ramsey playing a left wing-back role.
The bench looks strong with Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade and Joelinton on there.
It just feels like we're in trouble when Joe Willock is starting games, but we're not going to let that get to us. This is a winnable game.
HOWAY EDDIE HOWE'S CUP-DEFENDING MAGS!
