Confirmed Newcastle v Preston lineups: Mitrovic starts, Gayle on the bench

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Newcastle United take on Preston North End in the EFL Cup this evening.

Newcastle United will be looking for another victory this evening as they host Championship rivals Preston North End in the EFL Cup at St. James’ Park.

The Magpies hammered Ipswich Town 3-0 on Saturday afternoon, meaning they have now won their last five league games to sit top of the Championship table.

Tonight though, Rafael Benitez’s men turn their attention to the EFL Cup, as a place in the last eight of the competition is up for grabs against Preston North End.

Benitez has unsurprisingly rotated his side, as Matz Sels returns in goal in place of Karl Darlow, whilst centre back Grant Hanley is handed a rare start in defence.

Christian Atsu and Aleksandar Mitrovic both start, whilst Benitez has named the likes of Ciaran Clark, Ayoze Perez, Dwight Gayle and Jonjo Shelvey on the bench this evening.

Meanwhile, Preston are also in great form, as they have dropped just four points in their last six league games – a run which has seen them beat Aston Villa and Norwich City.

Preston host Newcastle in the league this weekend, and it seems that manager Simon Grayson has chosen to prioritise the league game over tonight’s fixture.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard comes in for Chris Maxwell between the sticks, whilst it will be a back five of Chris Humphrey, Bailey Wright, Paul Huntington, Ben Davies and Tommy Spurr.

Liam Grimshaw, Alan Browne and Newcastle fan Ben Pringle start in midfield, with Eoin Doyle joining Simon Makienok – who scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth in the last round of the competition – up front.

Many of North End’s bigger names are on the bench this evening, with Paul Gallagher and Jermaine Beckford both available as substitutes for manager Grayson.