Eddie Howe held his pre-match media briefing this morning as we head into the weekend fixture list where Newcastle take on Leeds United at St James’ Park on Saturday with a good-old 3pm kick-off.
Leeds were on the receiving end of a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City on Wednesday night and now face the league’s third-placed team in a second consecutive match (Man City started the game against Leeds in third place before jumping above Newcastle), but Eddie Howe isn’t expecting it to be a walk in the park for his lads: “From a physical perspective, it will be two teams that give their all. I’ve watched a lot of Leeds in preparation for this game and I’ve been impressed by them. We anticipate a very fast-paced game between two good teams.”
In terms of injuries, Newcastle will of course be without Jonjo Shelvey who faces another lengthy lay-off, but Howe did confirm that Callum Wilson is looking fitter after missing the Leicester City game through illness: “Callum has improved. He trained with us yesterday so he’s in a better place.”
However, Howe went on to speak of the importance and recent form of Chris Wood, suggesting that the New Zealand international may be in from the start against Leeds: “The last few games have probably been his best for us. The Vallecano game I thought he was outstanding. Tactically & physically very good and he carried that on into Leicester. He’s a really dependable character & player. I think he’s been excellent.”