Newcastle United looked lost against Aston Villa on Monday night, but three players in particular stood out for the wrong reasons.
Aston Villa defeated Newcastle United at Villa Park on Monday night and snapped the Magpies’ streak of two consecutive victories. Steve Bruce’s men now have five days to prepare for the defending champions, Manchester City.
Newcastle United are major underdogs in this clash, but fans simply hope to see their team play with more urgency and look more organized this weekend. In order to do that, Bruce must make some changes to his starting lineup. That being said, these three players should be dropped to the bench, at least for this one game.
Miguel Almiron
I admire the support Bruce shows for Miguel Almiron and one would think that the manager’s optimism would generate confidence for the player, but that has not been the case. Almiron needs a break from the starting lineup for a week or two. The Paraguayan international has created 22 chances, but has failed to score a single goal.
Almiron had a few great looks at goal against Aston Villa, but his precision was lacking and his first touch as he ran towards the penalty box was awful. Christian Atsu should start on the wing opposite of Allan Saint-Maximin against Manchester City. The Ghanaian winger has sufficient pace to cause problems out wide and he plays with much more confidence than Almiron.
DeAndre Yedlin
DeAndre Yedlin has been careless in the last two games. The American international admitted that he was daydreaming on the set piece that led to Bournemouth’s goal at St. James’ Park, he was the most criticized player for the United States during the international break, and he put in a horrible shift against Aston Villa. Yedlin’s foul on Grealish led to Aston Villa’s opening goal and the Toon never recovered.
Yes, Yedlin scored an impressive, acrobatic goal against Bournemouth, but his defending has been a liability. It’s time for Bruce to bring in Javier Manquillo. Something tells me that Bruce would prefer to play Emil Krafth against Manchester City, but the summer signing does not have the pace to keep up with their strikers and wingers. Manquillo is eager to start again and he should be given a chance to fight for his place in the lineup before the January transfer window rolls around the corner.
Paul Dummett
Paul Dummett is a good, reliable defender, and he has bailed the Magpies out of some dangerous situations on multiple occasions in the past. Up until Monday night, Dummett was on the bench for the last five games as a result of Ciaran Clark’s resurgence. Now that Fabian Schar is fully recovered from his knee injury, the Magpies need their best defender on the pitch, especially against top teams like Manchester City. The trio of Schar, Clark and Fernandez is Bruce’s best bet at frustrating Manchester City.