Confirmed Newcastle v Norwich lineups: Benitez drops under-fire Sels, strong bench named

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Here is how Newcastle United and Norwich City

Newcastle United will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s late 1-1 draw with Aston Villa as they take on second-placed Norwich City in the Championship this evening.

The Magpies led for most of the game against Aston Villa, but were hit with a sucker punch as Aaron Tshibola pounced to equalise late on.

Goalkeeper Matz Sels was heavily criticised for his performance, and despite manager Rafael Benitez sticking by the Belgian in the press this week, he has chosen to drop Sels in favour of Karl Darlow.

The only other change to the starting line-up sees Jack Colback return in midfield alongside Jonjo Shelvey, with Isaac Hayden dropping down to the bench.

Hayden is joined by Sels, Chancel Mbemba, Achraf Lazaar, Christian Atsu, Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic in a strong bench for Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Norwich make two changes from the side that beat Burton Albion 3-1 on Saturday, with Sebastien Bassong and Alexander Tettey coming in for Timm Klose and Wes Hoolahan.

The Canaries enter the game in second place in the Championship table, and can return to the top with a win this evening.

Alex Neil’s men have won their last four Championship games in a row and even dumped Everton out of the EFL Cup last week with a shock win at Goodison Park.

Confidence is flowing through the Norwich side right now, so it’s no great surprise to see Neil make very few changes to his side.

With options like Nelson Oliveira, Josh Murphy, Steven Naismith and the aforementioned Hoolahan, Norwich have strength on the bench too, and will be hoping for a better outcome than last season’s 6-2 defeat at St. James’ Park.