Forget Anthony Gordon: Three Newcastle players who must now start vs Brentford
Newcastle are aiming to get back to winning ways in the Premier League against Brentford on Sunday after a crushing loss to West Ham last weekend.
Eddie Howe‘s side were beaten 3-1 by the struggling Hammers in East London despite Jacob Murphy‘s early goal giving them an ideal springboard to go on and win.
Their league form has been patchy, to say the least, so far this season, with just three wins from their opening 10 games to currently be sitting in 13th place.
By contrast, Newcastle have been mightily impressive in the Champions League so far, with a comfortable 2-0 win against Athletic Club on Wednesday (5 November) to move up to sixth in the standings.
With another win needed to start moving up the league table, Football Insider have picked out three Magpies players who will feel like they are deserving of a start against the Bees this Sunday (9 November).
Jacob Murphy
Murphy took his goal last weekend against West Ham very well, and will have felt aggrieved to have started on the bench against Athletic after a decent individual showing compared to his teammates.
The 30-year-old came on just before half-time on Wednesday after Anthony Gordon picked up another injury, and still created the most chances of any player on the pitch across the 90 minutes, with two.
He will surely be a shoo-in for the right-wing spot against Brentford considering his impact in the last two games and Gordon’s injury concerns.
Anthony Elanga
Gordon’s woes mean he will surely not be fit, or even risked if he is fit, to start against the Bees, and so with Murphy potentially on the right-wing, Howe will also have a choice to make on the left.
Anthony Elanga was signed by Newcastle in the summer to become their new marquee forward and a regular starter out wide, but he has struggled so far with just four league starts this season.
Barnes did well in midweek but has been given more chances than the Swede in recent weeks with similarly poor returns, so Howe must put his faith in Elanga to start and help stretch the Bees defensive structure with his constant runs in behind and blistering pace.
Lewis Hall
Lewis Hall endured an injury lay-off of his own prior to his return to action against Athletic on Wednesday, and he looked his usual, terrier-like self after coming on for Dan Burn just past the hour mark.
33-year-old Burn was precautionarily taken off with an issue of his own as he failed to complete 90 minutes for the first time in his 15 appearances this season.
Those sorts of minutes are how players suffer recurring problems, and now that Hall is back fully fit, and is one of the best left-backs in the league on his day, he deserves a start as much as the big Geordie defender deserves a rest.