Eddie Howe didn’t name a weakened Newcastle United side against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Champions League, despite the Tyne-Wear Derby looming large.
Indeed, the 48-year-old went full strength, as he picked the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Gordon, even as his team’s tense showdown with Sunderland comes onto the overloaded fixture list on Sunday.
Going all out with his team selection didn’t mean a convincing win was forthcoming, though, as Newcastle’s frailties away from St James’ Park reared their ugly head once more in a 2-2 draw at the BayArena.
Unfortunately, many of Howe’s top performers throughout the season struggled in Leverkusen, as an 88th-minute equaliser from Alejandro Grimaldo proved to be a sickening end to a night that was meant to boost the Toon’s confidence, before travelling to the Black Cats.
Newcastle's worst performers vs Leverkusen
It was a well-worked move that saw the Spanish defender slot home past Aaron Ramsdale, but the lax marking of the full-back will have angered Howe at the full-time whistle, as Tonali looked nowhere near his energetic best once more.
The Italian just casually jogged about the pitch when the move was being orchestrated, with the ex-AC Milan man also falling victim to a sluggish display on the ball when giving up possession eight times.
As journalist Luke Edwards put it at the close of the 2-2 draw, he’s meant to “bring control” to contests late on, but looked haphazard on the flip side.
Moreover, Howe could now be second-guessing whether Malick Thiaw should start what will surely be a heated contest at the Stadium of Light, with the clumsy German fortunate not to receive a red card when bringing down Patrick Schick early into the first half, just before he could fire a shot at Ramsdale’s net.
Thankfully, the 24-year-old evaded the referee’s wrath, with the hope that he can get back to his rock-solid best on Wearside, having further come up short uncharacteristically on three of his eight duels away from St James’ Park.
Guimaraes was also left red-faced during the clash when he unfortunately put an own-goal past an unsuspecting Ramsdale, but he did more than enough at BayArena to keep his first-team spot, as seen in him notching up a hefty five key passes, as per Sofascore.
The same, however, can’t be said for one of his declining teammates…
The Newcastle star who must now be axed
Hailed as an “unbelievably frustrating” night from a Toon persuasion by Sky Sports’ Andy Sixsmith, it will be intriguing to see what changes Howe makes to his starting XI now for the demanding Tyne-Wear face-off to come.
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Joelinton dropping out feels like an obvious alteration, as the underperforming number seven limped off with a clear injury issue on the hour mark.
To make matters worse for the waning Brazilian, his replacement, Lewis Miley, scored within 14 minutes of his introduction into the lively game, leading one content creator to state that the young Englishman has now “claimed his starting space.”
Minutes played
60
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
33
Shots
1
Accurate passes
20/23 (87%)
Key passes
0
Total duels won
2/9
Even if the lethargic South American didn’t have his injury issue to contend with, he would likely be fearful of the axe when looking at his poor numbers from the Leverkusen score draw in more detail, as the 29-year-old, who used to be known for his verve and determination centrally, ended up only winning two of his nine duels on the night.
On top of that, he also very much fell victim to fading in and out of the match, having come off at the hour mark with only 33 touches accumulated, unlike his midfield partners in Guimaraes and Tonali, who amassed a weighty 121 touches between them.
Even Ramsdale in between the sticks would tally up more touches, ending the 2-2 affair with a slightly higher 39.
Having lost his spark in the Premier League this season, too, with zero goals or assists next to his name from 13 league outings, it does feel like a straightforward swap to bring in Miley for some freshness against Sunderland, as the homegrown prodigy licks his lips at the prospect of facing the Toon’s fiercest rivals.
Dropping Joelinton is unlikely to be the only tweak at the Stadium of Light, as Howe does everything in his power to pick the strongest XI that hands his team the bragging rights on Sunday.
As bad as Tonali: £75k-p/w star had his worst game in a Newcastle shirt
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