Newcastle United go into Saturday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur with a bit of an issue to sort out in defence with Fabian Schar suspended.
There’s a lack of options for Eddie Howe to fill Fabian Schar’s role one the right side of centre-back with Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth still unavailable.
It means there’s a very high chance that two defenders more comfortable on the left side of a centre-back pairing may have to start together.
Either that, or Howe will have to field two right-backs next to each other. Neither scenario is ideal, but at least we have options, unlike Saturday’s opponents who have resorted to fielding a midfielder in defence.
Advertisement
Any more business? | Will your club…
Any more business? | Will your club…
‘Newcastle will come flying out!’ |…
Tonali ‘excited’ to return following…
Howe: I had no contact with FA |…
Howe, Bielsa or Redknapp? Who should be…
‘He’s had a tough time’ | Howe…
The Verdict: Bournemouth, Newcastle…
Howe vs Tindall: Most time in front of…
‘Business as usual’ | Howe plays down…
‘A surprise if it doesn’t go through’ |…
Newcastle submit fourth bid for Guéhi
‘Superstar money for a superstar…
Fluid logo
We don’t expect Eddie Howe will risk starting Sven Botman on Saturday
Eddie Howe is set to have an extra option available according to Craig Hope who claims that Sven Botman has declared himself fit and ready to face Spurs.
We had suspected that Saturday could be the first time we see the £35 million man’s name on the team sheet this season, however, we’re sticking with him being on the bench.
It seems a bit risky to throw him in from the start unless Howe wants to get him up and running early and will take him off during the game as he starts to tire, but we expect he’ll be brought on later depending on how the game is going. It’s too big of a game to take such a big risk with a player who hasn’t played first-team football in nine months.
Eddie Howe could change our thinking in tomorrow’s press conference
Hope says that he’s been told Botman is ‘fit and ready to go’ which is fantastic news, but the last thing we want to do is rush him back and crock him again.
His return doesn’t solve the lopsided issue, so it would be crazy to rush him back for the sake of playing out of position or forcing someone else to.
We’ll save our thoughts for how we think Eddie Howe will stack his defence for our lineup prediction tomorrow, but you can probably guess we aren’t going to be putting Botman in there … unless Eddie Howe says something to change our mind in the morning.
