Steve Bruce must make this change against Manchester United

Steve Bruce should keep Paul Dummett on the bench when the team travels to Old Trafford on Thursday.

Newcastle United claimed all three points against Crystal Palace on Saturday after Miguel Almiron scored the winner in the 83rd minute. Most players put in impressive shifts and earned praise from Steve Bruce and the Toon Army, but Paul Dummett was an outlier who stood out for all the wrong reasons.

Jetro Willems missed the Crystal Palace clash due to an injury he picked up earlier in the week, so Bruce decided to play Dummett in his place. Defensively, the Welsh international did a great job of covering ground and recovering the ball on the left wing, however, his offensive performance was one to forget.

Crystal Palace did not apply much pressure and this enabled Dummett to bring the ball forward and deliver multiple crosses into the box. The problem, though, was the quality of those crosses. Not a single cross hit its target and this significantly limited the impact Joelinton and Andy Carroll had on the game.

At times, Dummett, who is the Magpies’ slowest wing-back, struggled to go around defenders when he had the ball at his feet. That being said, Bruce would be wise to drop Dummett on the bench and replace him with DeAndre Yedlin if Jetro Willems is not fit for action.

Yedlin over Dummett

Newcastle United essentially played against Crystal Palace’s “B” team due to the Eagles missing seven starters, yet Dummett struggled to have an impact offensively against a team that deployed their weakest possible back-line. Manchester United will be at full strength and they will play with urgency, especially after they just lost to last-placed Watford yesterday.

Newcastle United will need plenty of pace in order to stand a chance against the Red Devils at Old Trafford. Yedlin provides that pace and his crossing ability has actually improved over the last few months, which makes him much more of a threat than Dummett. It is also worth mentioning that Yedlin times his overlapping runs better than any wing-back on the squad and this was put on display when he scored an impressive goal against Bournemouth last month.

It would be great to see Willems recover and return to the lineup as he is the best option for the Toon on the left, but Yedlin is the best alternative if the Dutchman is still out. One thing to note, however, is that Yedlin usually plays on the right flank, so if Bruce does turn to the American on Thursday he would need to flip him to the right and bring Javier Manquillo over to the left.