One player who will be begging Eddie Howe not to be rested in Champions League play-off second leg - opinion
Eddie Howe could potentially rest some big stars at St James' Park next week, with Newcastle United carrying a 6-1 advantage into the second leg.
If Newcastle were able to fire six goals past Qarabag in Azerbaijan, the expectation will be that they could score as many as they liked under the lights at St James' Park.
However, as the fixture list continues to stretch Eddie Howe's squad to its limit, the manager may look to rest some big stars.
Malick Thiaw will have to sit this one out as he picked up a booking last night that means he's suspended for the return leg, but Howe may opt to give some other stars the night off to keep them fresh.
Anthony Gordon has Kylian Mbappe in his sights
One man we're almost certain will be pleading with Eddie Howe to be on the pitch next week is Anthony Gordon.
Gordon is in red-hot form again, and after scoring four last night, he'll want to keep going. But more importantly, his four goals last night put him ahead of Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, and he's now just three goals behind Kylian Mbappe.
Surely, Gordon will be feeling he can add a few more to his tally on his home turf if Qarabag roll over as easily as they did last night.
Anthony Gordon was determined to add to his tally last night, even risking the wrath of Kieran Trippier to do so
It's a long shot for Gordon to catch and surpass Mbappe, but next week's home tie is the best chance he's going to get to close that gap, and he will be very aware of that.
We saw how much he wanted to score his fourth last night, falling out with captain Kieran Trippier to ensure he remained the penalty taker for Newcastle's fifth goal.
I know that if I were in Gordon's shoes, I'd be insisting that I was on the pitch next week.
