Three fringe Newcastle players face starts vs Fulham as Eddie Howe battles injury crisis
Eddie Howe will be weighing up how to set up for Newcastle’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Fulham on Wednesday night.
Newcastle have done well in their quest to defend their Carabao Cup crown so far this season, despite some patchy Premier League form.
Two wins against Bradford City and Tottenham have led them to this point, where they will face fellow top-flight side Fulham at St James’ Park in midweek for a place in the last four.
Magpies boss Howe will have some key selection decisions to make as he assesses which players need to rest and recover amid a gruelling winter schedule, especially with seven first-team stars currently sidelined.
He could ring the changes after a dismal Wear-Tyne derby defeat last time out, and Football Insider have looked at three Newcastle players who deserve a start against the Cottagers on Wednesday.
Yoane Wissa
Wissa recovered from a serious ligament injury to make his long-awaited Newcastle debut against Burnley on 6 December, and has since appeared off the bench in their last two games as well.
His timely return to action is set to give Howe the chance to rest Nick Woltemade, whose poor performance against Sunderland indicated that he requires some time out of the starting eleven after being relied on so heavily since moving to Tyneside.
The Magpies boss has played it cool regarding which striker he will choose to start on Wednesday, but it makes much more sense for it to be the DR Congo man, as he needs to get up to full match fitness and grab a first goal for the club to settle his nerves sooner rather than later.
Jacob Ramsey
Ramsey started in the last round of the cup as Newcastle beat Spurs 2-0, and this feels like the ideal game to give him another chance from the off and rest either Sandro Tonali or Bruno Guimaraes.
The ex-Aston Villa man put in a strong performance in his last start against Burnley, yet only featured for a few minutes against Bayer Leverkusen and was left on the bench against Sunderland last time out.
He will surely, therefore, be ready and raring to take the game to Fulham as he finally starts to prove to all at St James’ Park that he was worth the £43million they paid to sign him from his boyhood club in the summer.
Alex Murphy
Newcastle’s defensive injury woes have been compounded by the news that Dan Burn is set for six weeks on the sidelines with lung and rib problems after a challenge with Nordi Mukiele on Sunday.
Howe has been left with four fit senior defenders as a result of his injury, with the likes of Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman also out, while Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento have only just recovered from respective layoffs.
It would be no surprise to see young left-back Alex Murphy handed an opportunity against Fulham as a result of the limitations in their squad, with the Irishman having already made four senior appearances for the club since 2023.
He has regularly made the first-team bench this season, particularly in the last month, and it looks as if the Magpies boss is ready to hand him a big chance, which could come against the Cottagers.