Newcastle United will look to continue their strong start to the season when they welcome Crystal Palace to St. James’ Park in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night.
The Magpies are enjoying a fine run at the moment, now unbeaten in nine and on a run of four straight wins, while they have scored four goals in each of their last two games.
Eddie Howe’s men have not only managed to cracked the top-six code but are sticking around leisurely in the top four, continuing their excellent form with yet another comfortable 4-1 away win over Southampton over the weekend despite not being at their best.
They have been one of the best teams in the Premier League this season and are seven points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who have played a game less. While Eddie Howe’s side looks like serious contenders for a top-four spot this season, lifting the Premier League trophy still remains a pipe dream in the presence of the juggernaut that is Manchester City, unless they are the second coming of Leicester City.
What a year it has been. 😍 pic.twitter.com/BkCtqle0oZ
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 8, 2022
The Geordies haven’t won a trophy since the Inter-Cities Fairs’ Cup in 1969, while their last domestic success was in 1955 in the FA Cup. So, any precious piece of silverware would be welcomed by the Toon Army, and judging on their current form, it appears they have a chance to make history and buck the trend this year in either of the two domestic cups.
They qualified for the third round of the EFL Cup with a narrow 2-1 narrow away win over League Two side Tranmere Rovers and will have their work cut out against a Premier League opponent in Crystal Palace here.
The visitors, Crystal Palace, are also having a decent season themselves, currently sitting 10th in the Premier League table under the guidance of Patrick Vieira, who is in the process of making them a more established top-half side and more exciting to watch by every game.
To reach this stage, the Eagles overcame League One side Oxford United 2-0 in the third round in what proved to be a tricky game for them, and Patrick Vieira will want to go far in the competition after reaching the FA Cup semi-finals last season, which concluded in a 2-0 defeat earlier this year.
Team News & Tactics
Newcastle United
Alexander Isak, Matt Ritchie, Emil Krafth, and Paul Dummett are all ruled out here due to respective injury problems and are not expected to be back until after the World Cup.
Carabao Cup prep. 🏆
🔜 #NEWCRY pic.twitter.com/6wHfsnlwDo
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 8, 2022
Eddie Howe is expected to opt for the same 4-3-3 formation and has hinted at making a raft of changes to his Newcastle United starting XI for the EFL Cup clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night due to the quick turnaround between the league and cup games. A handful of fringe, young players are expected to benefit from this.
That is not to say the former Bournemouth manager has not got quality squad depth, with some established Premier League players such as Ryan Fraser, Jonjo Shelvey, and Allan Saint-Maximin, among others, vying for starts here.
Second-choice Karl Darlow will replace Nick Pope in goal for the Magpies, as was the case in the EFL Cup last time out. Javier Manquillo, Jamaal Lascelles, and Matt Targett could all come into the back-four, with Dan Burn switching back to the centre-back role. Fabian Schar, Sven Botman, and Kieran Trippier will all be rested with Chelsea also coming to the town on the weekend.
Jonjo Shelvey has made a cameo appearance in each of the last two games and will get to start this one. Operating in the anchor role, the veteran playmaker will be assigned to keep things ticking along and ought to add more poise in attack with his range of passing.
Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson will partner Shelvey to form a midfield three, although both will have the freedom to foray forward and combine with forwards around them to unlock a resilient Palace defence.
Maverick Frenchman Saint-Maximin could also mark his return on the left wing, whereas Fraser will try to put his pace to good use on the right flank, replacing a red-hot Miguel Almiron.
Howe is expected to rest Callum Wilson, who’s had a sickness bout and was withdrawn at the half-time break against Southampton. Chris Wood came on to replace the Englishman and scored the crucial second goal to give his team some much-needed breathing room. The New Zealander is set to keep his place and will spearhead the line for the hosts.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Darlow; Manquillo, Lascalles, Burn, Targett; Longstaff, Shelvey, Anderson; Fraser, Wood, Saint-Maximin
Crystal Palace
Palace boss Patrick Vieira remains without the services of Chris Richards and James McArthur. Odsonne Edouard missed the weekend triumph against West Ham due to an injury, and he might lose out on a starting spot here as well.
“Im really pleased with the performance against West Ham, we played some really good football at times and it was a really good win.”
The boss looks back on Sunday’s victory 🙌#CPFC pic.twitter.com/SjtO1wnT31
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) November 8, 2022
There will be an altogether different backline for Newcastle, with Sam Johnstone set to come back in between the sides for the visitors for only his second Palace appearance. Joel Ward is the likely candidate for the right-back spot, while James Tomkins and Marc Guehi could form the central defensive pairing. Jairo Riedewald could get a rare start in place of Tyrick Mitchell at left-back.
Cheick Doucoure continues to provide defensive support at the base of midfield alongside forgotten man Luka Milivojevic, who scored a penalty goal in the previous round of the competition.
Will Hughes will hope to deliver the goods from the attacking midfield position, looking to churn out some good opportunities for the forward players, while Malcolm Ebiowei hopes to give a good account of himself on the other side as the right winger.
Jordan Ayew will be the workhorse attacker for Palace, initiating the press. Finally, Jean-Philippe Mateta could also get a good run-out here, leading the line against Newcastle.
Michael Olise, Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze, and Odsonne Edouard will be rested on the bench, and could be introduced as impact subs in the latter stages of the game.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Johnstone; Ward, Tomkins, Guehi, Riedewald; Milivojevic, Doucoure; Ebiowei, Hughes, Ayew; Mateta
Key Stats
- Newcastle and Crystal Palace have met twice in the League Cup, with the Magpies winning 3-2 away from home in the third round in September 2014.
- Palace have won only two of their previous 13 away games at Newcastle United across all competitions (D3 L8), playing out a 0-0 draw earlier this season at St. James’ Park in the Premier League.
- Newcastle United have been ousted from their last four EFL Cup meetings against Premier League opponents, three of which were decided on penalties.
- Palace are aiming to advance to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2018-19, with this being their first third-round fixture since then.
- This is actually Newcastle’s third competitive meeting against Palace in the calendar year (W1, D1).
Player to Watch
Sean Longstaff
Newcastle United are continuing their fine form, and so are their most influential first-team players. Bruno Guimaraes, Miguel Almiron, Kieran Trippier, and Callum Wilson are all taking plenty of credit, and rightly so; they are all in superb form, but one of the Magpies’ most-improved players who is going a bit under the radar is academy product, Sean Longstaff.
The 25-year-old has actually started ten of Newcastle’s 14 Premier League games so far, in which Eddie Howe’s side has picked up 19 points. A very well-rounded central midfielder, who we think is vastly underappreciated by many football fans.
He is a player with very high energy levels who covers a lot of ground and loves to put his foot in and win back possession, but he’s also a very creative player on the ball; he has an eye for a long-range pass, and he does boast an impressive strike from distance.
He’s getting back to his best levels, which he showed when he broke onto the scene under Rafael Benitez. Brimming with confidence, he has a swagger about his tenacity, and willingness to get into excellent scoring positions by making blindside runs or late runs at the back-post. He came close to getting on the scoresheet in recent games and could find the back of the net here.
Prediction
Newcastle United 2-1 Crystal Palace
This will most certainly be a close game, as both managers will shuffle their packs, giving opportunities to the fringe players on Wednesday. Meanwhile, they both could bring in game-changing options from the bench, so the game looks likely to be decided on razor-thin margins.
While the home side are sure to have a difficult evening against Palace, they hold the upper hand as they are back at the fortress that is St James’ Park, where they very rarely lose. In fact, they have lost at home only once in the whole calendar year. The Hard Tackle predicts Newcastle’s heavily rotated side to edge the Eagles out and progress into the next round of the Carabao Cup.
