Steve Bruce needs to drop Ki Sung-yueng and Emil Krafth from the lineup this weekend for the game against Tottenham.
Steve Bruce has several decisions to make before Sunday’s game against Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Fans are anxiously waiting to see if Bruce will change his formation and if he is preparing the squad to play attacking football or defensive football.
We should get some insight from how the team is training over the next few days, but one thing we do know, and I think all of you can agree with me here, is that Ki Sung-yueng and Emil Krafth need to be dropped from the starting lineup. In my opinion, these two were the worst players on the pitch. Generally speaking, Ki was slow and had no impact on the game, whereas Krafth might have had the worst debut I have seen for a new signing in recent years.
Sean Longstaff and Javier Manquillo were starters against Arsenal and they should take over once again this weekend. Longstaff has been consistent since playing as a starter for the Magpies under Benitez and he is more willing to get involved in the attack.
Krafth is a talented defender and he has shown how good he is during his time in the Serie A and Ligue 1, but he is clearly not ready to start games in the Premier League. Krafth’s poor marking and slower pace enabled Teemu Pukki to light the Toon up with three goals. In terms of marking players, Manquillo is not a superior option, but Bruce needs a speedy wing-back who can get forward to deliver some crosses and to keep up with Tottenham’s wingers when they attack.
Knowing that Son Heung-min is expected to return to action against Newcastle United, Bruce cannot take any risks against a stacked Spurs side that will have Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min running at his back-line. Longstaff will provide some stability in the middle of the park and Manquillo at least has sufficient pace to obstruct some crosses and intercept dangerous passes intended to go out wide.