Newcastle United welcome Crystal Palace to the increasingly imposing venue of St. James' Park in the Premier League on Wednesday evening
Bruno Guimaraes' 95th-minute winner against Leicester earned Newcastle a fifth consecutive Premier League victory on home turf last Sunday. The Magpies haven't strung together half a dozen wins on Tyneside since April 2004, when Sir Bobby Robson was manager and Alan Shearer club captain.
Here's the XI Eddie Howe may deploy as the upwardly mobile club strives to replicate those fondly remembered years.
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Martin Dubravka (GK) - Preventing just 65% of the shots that fly his way, only Watford's Championship-bound goalkeepers have a worse save percentage than the Newcastle number one this season (per FBref).
Emil Krafth (RB) - Despite missing training with an illness, Krafth made himself available against Leicester to deliver a performance Howe gleefully described as 'very, very good'.
Fabian Schar (CB) - The confident distributor is one start away from enjoying his most prolific season of appearances from the off since arriving in Newcastle four years ago.
Dan Burn (CB) - With 85 appearances for Brighton under his belt, the former Seagull can renew his A23 enmity against Palace this midweek.
Matt Targett (LB) - The Aston Villa-loanee has already scored against Patrick Vieira's side this season, netting the third Premier League goal of his career at Selhurst Park in November.
2. Midfielders
Bruno Guimaraes (CM) - In five Newcastle starts, the Brazilian international has scored as many goals (three) as he could muster in 71 appearances for Lyon.
Jonjo Shelvey (CM) - The Romford-born 30-year-old is the team's go-to guy for ball progression, completing more final third, progressive and switched passes than any of his colleagues (per FBref).
Joelinton (CM) - A bundle of kinetic energy since his arrival in 2019, no Newcastle player can top Joelinton's tally of 17 Premier League yellow cards in this period.
3. Forwards
Miguel Almiron (RW) - With Ryan Fraser's fitness still up in the air, Howe may turn again to a forward without a goal or assist in his past 37 Premier League appearances.
Chris Wood (ST) - According to Transfermarkt, the legendary duo of Gabriel Batistuta and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only two centre-forwards in their 30s to cost more than Newcastle's €30m winter arrival.
Allan Saint-Maximin (LW) - The focal point of every Newcastle attack is showing signs of warming to Howe despite his undiluted admiration of his predecessor Steve Bruce: "A manager I really, really love," as the Frenchman said.
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Source : 90min