Newcastle United head into Sunday’s game against Sheffield United having had much of lockdown dominated by takeover talk.
With no football on, Newcastle fans’ focus has been firmly off the field and on board room matters.
However, after a drawn out takeover process, Magpies supporters will finally be able to discuss happenings on the pitch again at the weekend.
Newcastle look relatively safe in mid-table, but will need a couple more wins to feel totally assured of survival.
Steve Bruce will surely be keen to achieve Premier League safety as soon as possible, and he will want to ensure that he gets his tactics right from the off.
Bruce has suggested that Newcastle want to adopt a more attacking approach, which is likely to see Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Valentino Lazaro all start together.
Newcastle’s big dilemma remains over who to start up-front.
Dwight Gayle featured for Newcastle in their games before lockdown, but he is now injured, which means Bruce needs to pick between Joelinton and Andy Carroll.
Carroll is fit again now and has been training, but it is Joelinton who has impressed more in warm-up games.
The Brazilian has scored twice for Newcastle in friendly matches ahead of the restart, and that may just be enough to earn him the nod to start on Sunday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
