A look at Newcastle United’s 1/11 lineup at Wolves
Steve Bruce is still without key players and has selected an interesting Newcastle United squad vs. Wolves.
After a draw last weekend vs. Rochdale in the FA Cup, Newcastle United are back in Premier League play in less than an hour when they kick off vs. Wolverhampton. As he waits for his injury list to continue to shrink, Steve Bruce has made some changes in the starting lineup and on the bench. We take a look at today’s squad.
Starting XI
Dubravka/Dummett/Fernandez/Clark/Hayden/M. Longstaff/S. Longstaff/Willems/Almiron/Joelinton/Gayle
Bench
Allan/Atsu/Carroll/Darlow/Lejeune/Ritchie/Watts
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Analysis
You already know who the goalkeeper is and was always going to be, but things already get interesting on the backline. Bruce has selected Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, and Federico Fernandez in central defense. Jetro Willems will be starting at wing-back on the left side and it appears that Isaac Hayden will line up opposite him. Hayden played as a center back vs. Rochdale and will play out of position again today with no DeAndre Yedlin, Emil Krafth, or Javier Manquillo in the squad.
The midfield pairing of Matty and Sean Longstaff will need to drive the action. They were average against Rochdale and need to stake a claim to their position in that central midfield pecking order. In the attack, we have the trio of Joelinton, Dwight Gayle, and Miguel Almiron. I would prefer to see Joelinton on the left wing with Gayle up top, but we could see that reversed or even better, both Gayle and Joelinton up top with Miguel Almiron playing centrally behind them.
Making the bench are two 20-year-olds in Thomas Allan and Kelland Watts. The latter could come on in central defense and push Dummett out wide if Bruce needs to add some defensive cover. Allan typically plays on the right wing for Newcastle’s reserve side and is one of the limited attacking options Brucey has on the bench. Andy Carroll is back available and Matt Ritchie will be on the bench for the second straight match after making a substitute appearance vs. the Dale.