Wednesday’s win over Brentford wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was just about getting the job done – and we did exactly that.
An emotionally drained Newcastle back from a 17-day break and bus parade managed to do what no Premier League side had done since December, with the Bees previously on a run of five straight away wins in the league.
Next up we travel to a totally out of sorts Leicester side on Monday night, handing us a huge chance to keep the momentum going against a side who’ve lost 14 of their last 15 and failed to score in any of their last seven.
Not only is it a big chance to win again, several of our league rivals have potentially tricky games this weekend, with Aston Villa facing Nottingham Forest, Brighton travelling to Crystal Palace, Fulham hosting Liverpool and Chelsea going to Brentford after their win over Spurs on Thursday saw the Blues move back above us.
Howe on Isak, Trippier and Gordon – “We’ll wait and see today (Friday), I will see them [Kieran Trippier and Alexander Isak] for the first time. We don’t think we have any big injuries from Wednesday night, but we have a few niggles. We are monitoring Anthony [Gordon], he is still recovering. He has done individual training not group training, we will have to wait and see.”
Howe on Barnes – “Harvey has been chomping at the bit to play. He has been desperate to showcase what he can do, he brings unique things to the group and he is definitely a goal threat, having seven shots against Brentford from both sides of the pitch.
“I trust him a lot. He has a lot of great attributes. I have been really happy with how he has come into the team. He has been a consistent threat down the left-hand side.”
Howe on Leicester – “They are not out of it and I think they will believe they have a chance. I always look at how teams play and Leicester have been very competitive.
“We know they are dangerous, we know they have good players. Jamie Vardy is still a massive threat and he bring his unique qualities that we are going to need to control. We are going to have to be on our guard. There are no easy games in this league.”
Alexander Isak (groin) and Kieran Trippier (groin) will ‘hopefully be OK’, said Howe. Both came off on Wednesday and will be assessed over the weekend.
Anthony Gordon is back from a ban but hadn’t yet resumed full training as of Friday morning, with Howe revealing that bad bruising from that heavy knock away on England duty has left him in pain.
Joelinton (knee) is expected to be OK, although he is one booking from a two-game ban. Sven Botman and Lewis Hall remain out, however.
For Leicester, Ricardo Pereira could return, but Abdul Fatuwu (ACL) remains out and Harry Winks has been axed after a reported fallout with Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento – Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton – Murphy, Isak, Barnes.
Gordon’s return from suspension could’ve created the big dilemma for Howe, but with him yet to resume full training as of Friday morning, I’d imagine he’ll be back on the bench at best, allowing Barnes to keep his place down the left after another promising performance in midweek from the former Leicester star.
Hopefully Isak and Trippier are OK to start – I think both will be fine – but should their groin niggles keep them out we’d likely see Callum Wilson and/or Emil Krafth come into the side.
Match prediction
It’s an opportunity we can’t miss in our push for a top five finish and I think we’ll make light work of a frankly awful Leicester side who have problems on and off the pitch.
I fancy Barnes to score against his former club and hope Isak comes through OK. But most importantly, let’s hope we can take all three points back to Tyneside and make it three straight wins in the league.
Prediction: Leicester 0-3 Newcastle
Howay the lads!