Newcastle United should sit these players in Carabao Cup

Newcastle United and 12 other Premier League clubs entered the Carabao Cup in the second round yesterday.

Newcastle United have entered the Carabao Cup in the second round of the tournament and they were drawn against Leicester City in the North region. Unlike most Premier League rivals who were drawn against inferior opposition from lower leagues, the Magpies will have a tough test to start the tournament.

Steve Bruce has made it clear that he aims to win a domestic trophy with Newcastle United, but the odds of advancing deep into the meaningless Carabao Cup have now dropped quite significantly. However, seeing that there is no real benefit to winning this tournament, Leicester City might field a weak team comprised of reserve players and the Toon could advance. That being said, though, Bruce should make the Premier League and the FA Cup his primary objectives, not the Carabao Cup. As a result, the following players should sit out for this tournament to avoid unwanted and unnecessary injuries.

Sit Key Players

Joelinton

• The club paid top dollar for Joelinton and he is expected to lead the front-line this season. If he gets injured, there is no way Yoshinori Muto, Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll will keep this team up.

Miguel Almiron

• Like Joelinton, Almiron is a crucial player who serves as a playmaker down the middle and out wide. No other player on the roster is capable of setting up big plays for his teammates the way Almiron does.

Jonjo Shelvey

• If Newcastle United want to be successful this season they need Shelvey to stay healthy. He already picked up a slight knock against Arsenal, so Bruce should sit his general in midfield out for this tournament.

Allan Saint-Maximin

• The young French winger would definitely light it up against reserve players in this tournament, but we need him to do that in the Premier League. Once Saint-Maximin settles into the squad and adapts to English football, he will quickly become one of our most important players and we cannot afford to lose him to injury.

Matt Ritchie

• With Jacob Murphy out on loan, Christian Atsu still recovering from injury and Rolando Aarons being dropped from the roster, the Magpies cannot risk losing Ritchie to injury. It really is as simple as that.

Fabian Schar

• Schar is the best defender on the roster and keeping him injury-free is crucial. Not only does he get the job done defensively, but he is a dark horse who has shown that he can provide unexpected goals over the course of the Premier League season.