The Newcastle United starting eleven this season has been constantly changing.
The demands of playing more matches (51) than any other team in the five big European leagues has of course been a huge factor in that. When playing every midweek as well as weekend, changes have to be made in such a tough schedule.
Then you add suspensions and such a damaging number of injuries to so many first team squad players, it has ensured even more changes to the team.
Now seven months into the season though, I feel that we could at last be set to see the same Newcastle United starting eleven turn out match after match.
With only the Premier League left to concentrate on, Eddie Howe now faces seven matches across seven weekends (unless further progress in knockout competitions for opposition clubs force a change to midweek).
Whilst on the injury front, things are also seemingly clearing up at last. Emil Krafth is ruled out for the season, but other than Sven Botman who is likely to miss some of the earlier games in this remaining run of matches (due to facial fracture sustained against Sunderland), the likes of Schar, Bruno and Miley are all finally set to return and give Eddie Howe an almost entire squad to choose from.
I know it may all feel like too little too late for many of you as fans, the returning players coming after the knockout competition eliminations, plus marooned in mid-table in the league.
However, it is now simply a case of attacking these final seven matches and seeing where we end up. The fact is as well, Newcastle United are only seven points off the Champions League places and four points adrift of some kind of guaranteed football. You also have the possibility of the European places stretching down to eighth, ninth, tenth, or even eleventh, depending on how the Premier League places and English clubs in European competitions end up this season.
The way the ridiculous schedule of matches is set out this season, having played almost every weekend and midweek this season, we are all now experiencing three weeks between Newcastle United matches.
Eddie Howe having this time to think about how he wants to approach the final seven games and the Newcastle United starting eleven he wants to put out. The final internationals were played on Tuesday (31 March) and so the manager with this unimagined luxury of having more than a week to prepare for the Crystal Palace match, with all the Newcastle United players (barring Krafth and Botman) to work with.
My belief is that we will see Eddie Howe decide on a Newcastle United starting eleven that he wants to see the season out with, playing the same team week after week across the seven matches with as few changes as possible, getting that settled preferred side which he has never been able to have all season.
The Newcastle United starting eleven that I predict to finish off the season:
Pope
Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall
Tonali, Bruno, Joelinton
Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon
With a decent range of options on the bench at last, I think the likes of Ramsey, Elanga, Schar, Trippier and Miley will all get decent minutes as well. Possibly Wissa also, with hopefully his world cup finals qualification giving him a late season boost.
No doubt you will all have your own ideas on my predicted Newcastle United starting eleven, but one thing for sure (in my opinion) is that Eddie Howe will look to pick a same settled side that can attack these remaining matches, week after week.