Newcastle United will already have one eye on their next opponent, Manchester United, and Bruno Guimaraes will be relishing the challenge.
After the draw against Chelsea at the weekend, we now know Newcastle will spend Christmas in 11th place in the Premier League table (unless Fulham can put four past Nottingham Forest tonight).
Howe disagrees with Bruno 👀 whose side are you on?
However, the Magpies can make a real signal of their intent on Boxing Day when they take on Man United at Old Trafford. A win there would push Newcastle closer to the Champions League qualification spots and may even see them leapfrog United.
If they are to beat the Red Devils, it’s likely Bruno Guimaraes will have some say on the game, and he’ll now be going into the match as the most revered and influential player on the pitch.
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Bruno Fernandes injury opens door for Guimaraes
That’s because Bruno Fernandes is now set to miss the game, which is a massive blow for Man United but a big positive for Newcastle.
The United captain went off injured during the defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday. Without him, that midfield area on Boxing Day will be well up for grabs, and we all know Bruno Guimaraes is the kind of player capable of stepping up and thriving in the spotlight.
The Brazilian has already been putting in some top performances of late and has probably been Newcastle’s best, most consistent player this month. Now, he has to take that to the next level against Man United.
This will be Newcastle’s first away trip to a Big Six team this season, and Bruno will be desperate for him and his teammates to send a message to the rest of the league.
Often, when Fernandes is on the pitch, it’s hard for other teams to get a handle on the midfield battle. Without him, there’s a big hole that Guimaraes will be more than happy to fill.
His influence simply has to be felt on the day if Newcastle are to get anything from this away game.
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Throwing it away AGAIN! 😬
Newcastle drop points from a winning position once more… Which of these failures disappoints you the most?
It’s time for the mentality to change at Newcastle
Eddie Howe has a lot to fix ahead of the Man U game, most notably the mentality at Newcastle. Be it playing away from home or holding onto leads, the Magpies just can’t cut it this season for some reason.
Guimaraes has not been happy with his teammates of late for their lack of fight and he has not hesitated in telling them that. That’s something we can’t really accuse the skipper of lacking, to be fair, but he has to make sure he leads by example against Man U.
If Newcastle’s various issues are to be solved, that process needs to begin at Old Trafford. Not only would a win there lift the Magpies above their Big Six rival, it would let the rest of the league know that Newcastle can win away from home and they can beat the top teams in the division.
I struggle to think of a better message to fire ahead of the New Year.
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