Next up in the Premier League for Eddie Howe is Liverpool vs Newcastle. The fixtures aren't getting any easier for the English boss, after his side were served a dose of reality via a Chris Wood hat-trick, losing 1-3 at home to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
The Magpies are running out of excuses. They have had injury concerns, for sure, but playing this way with the players available isn't acceptable. The depth should be enough to at least battle with Nottingham Forest, but we were miserably humbled, and the Liverpool fixture looks scary.
Most of the problems stemmed from a poor defence on the day. In truth, I couldn't pinpoint a single defender for Newcastle who had a good game, as all of them were at fault in one way or another for either of the goals which is weird, considering it was meant to be our strongest defence.
NEXT: The best AND worst player from Newcastle 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Liverpool vs Newcastle: Eddie Howe makes concerning Jamaal Lascelles injury admission
Jamaal Lascelles missed the match against Nottingham Forest through injury and the gut feeling is that he will miss the trip to Anfield on the first day of the new year, too. Shields Gazette has revealed that while Eddie Howe isn't concerned about Lascelles suffering a long-term injury, it's unlikely he will return in time for the Anfield trip.
In fact, Eddie Howe had the following to say:
""Of course, we've suffered the injuries that we have and those players who aren't available, I don't think there is anyone coming back in the next few days.""Eddie Howe
As I mentioned, there should be no excuse for defensive errors. The defenders we have available to us now are world-class options and we should be incredibly grateful for them, let's hope it was just a bad day at the office against their former teammate Chris Wood.
What's your score prediction for Liverpool vs Newcastle?