Newcastle United return to action on Wednesday night as Eddie Howe welcomes Tottenham Hotspur to St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s attention turns to the Carabao Cup this week.
Newcastle United beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday afternoon, with Bruno Guimaraes bagging a late winner.
The Magpies were not in full flow against Fulham, but still managed to grab the win with Bruno’s finish.
After Champions League and Premier League wins, Howe is now looking for a victory in the Carabao Cup.
Three Newcastle United players who need to start against Tottenham Hotspur
Newcastle host Tottenham in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as Howe looks to retain the trophy.
The Magpies boss will be considering changes as Spurs make the long trip to the North East, with some rotation required.
Summer signing Aaron Ramsdale is certainly one man who needs a start.
The goalkeeper has played just once this season, and that came in last month’s Carabao Cup win over Bradford City.
Nick Pope is playing well, but you never know when you will need your backup goalkeeper to step up.
Ramsdale has impressed Howe in training, but he needs the minutes on Wednesday night just to gain some sharpness.
Injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall mean Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn have taken on major workloads of late.
That means Emil Krafth may need to come in for an appearance, firstly to hand Trippier and Burn a well-earned rest.
A secondary aspect here is that Krafth may yet be needed for first-team action if any more injuries emerge.
The Swede also started against Bradford, and while it’s a big step up to face Spurs, he needs the chance to play.
Our final pick goes to Anthony Elanga, whose Newcastle career has yet to truly take off.
The winger came off the bench against Fulham and had a hand in Bruno’s winner, pinching possession back to spark a counter-attack.
Elanga needs minutes to prove himself, and Wednesday should offer the perfect opportunity to build up some momentum.
William Osula start looks likely
We didn’t include forward William Osula here, simply because he looks likely to start up top.
Howe praised Osula after Saturday’s win over Fulham, as he came off the bench to make a huge impact.
Bruno’s late winner came as he followed up Osula’s shot to score, after the Dane showed off his speed to hurt Fulham.
Osula scored twice against Bradford in the last round, so he should receive another chance to start against Tottenham this week.
Spurs will pose a real threat, but with key players taking on major minutes in recent weeks, Howe will surely rotate before facing West Ham United.
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