This morning, Eddie Howe faced the media to talk about tomorrow’s fixture against Tranmere Rovers in the second round of the Carabao Cup. We take a look at some of the main points (the full briefing can be watched on NUFC TV):
The briefing opened up with questions about the overall health of the squad with Howe confirming that Callum Wilson has had a scan on his hamstring following the Manchester City game and they are awaiting results but don’t think it’s serious. However, it does hammer home the importance of needing reinforcements before the window closes as we are severely lacking in backup in that area.
Dan Burn will also miss the cup tie after Sven Botman pole-axed the Blyth-born defender in the final minutes of the game on Sunday when his attempted clearance whacked burn full in the face. It had shades of Lauren Robert sending Oliver Bernard into the next dimension against Leicester.
Newcastle youngster, Elliot Anderson impressed with his pre-season displays and fans have been hoping to see the academy graduate given a chance in the Premier League but as yet that’s not happened. Eddie Howe has let on that Anderson could be in line for his first start of the season: “Elliot’s chomping at the bit to be involved. He’s trained very well, even at the start of this season. He hasn’t appeared yet in the Premier League (this season) but his performances in training have not dipped so he’s in a good place to give a good performance.”
Can Newcastle Win The EFL Cup This Season?
Absolutely
Not yet
Encouragingly, Howe spoke of the importance of the Carabao Cup and that Newcastle will be treating the competition with respect: “It’s very important. I made that clear during pre-season that I want to see a team that wants to win every game we compete in. Every competition is treated with the same importance and I hope that is reflected in our performance tomorrow.
“I think there will be changes to the team but I believe in the squad we have and a lot of the players are fighting to play in the Premier League are outstanding individuals with outstanding characters.”
On the whole, it looks like we will see a very different starting eleven to what we’ve seen in the league, but that seems more down to freshness than anything else with the lads leaving everything on the pitch on Sunday, a Wednesday fixture likely came too soon for some of them. Despite it being lower-league opposition, this will still be a big test for those who are called up to prove themselves. Whatever eleven Howe fields will be expected to win comfortably, and that’s the kind of pressure that can knock people off their game.
HOWE MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT EDDIE?