Steve Bruce will axe Freddie Woodman from the Newcastle United starting line-up, with Karl Darlow returning in goal to face Leeds on Friday night, per the Mirror (14/9, p51).
The Toon and Whites are still in search of their first wins of the Premier League season after difficult starts. Newcastle suffered a third defeat in four against Manchester United on Saturday, with Woodman struggling between the sticks.
Conceding four at Old Trafford additionally saw Bruce’s men end the weekend with the top-flight’s worst defensive record. The St James’ Park have allowed 12 goals over their opening fixtures. Leeds, meanwhile, lost 3-0 to Liverpool to sit a point above Newcastle.
Bruce is now likely to turn to Darlow over Woodman in the hopes of changing Newcastle’s fortunes against Leeds. Darlow returned to training over the September international break following a lengthy battle with coronavirus. Per Chronicle Live, he lost over a stone in weight and several kilos of muscle after a spell in hospital.
Darlow has now recovered and is in contention to return against Leeds after featuring on the bench at Manchester United. The £25k-a-week goalie has not played any competitive action since Bruce axed him from the Newcastle line-up in February.
Bruce trusted Darlow with guarding the Toon net for 25 Premier League fixtures last term while without Martin Dubravka. He kept four clean sheets across his appearances, but was on the losing side on both meetings with the Whites.
Should Newcastle replace Woodman with Darlow against Leeds?
Woodman was performing at a promising level during Newcastle’s opening three Premier League games, despite Bruce’s side taking one point. But, unfortunately for the 24-year-old, suffered a loss of form against Manchester United, which proved costly.
The Magpies product could not control Mason Greenwood’s attempt, with the ball falling welcomely for Cristiano Ronaldo to score. The Portuguese later fired his second of the day through Woodman’s legs, on a day to forget for the goalie.
Now, Bruce is seemingly set to move on and recall Darlow against Leeds, who performed admirably when needed last season. He produced remarkable showings to keep the Toon in games against the last two top-flight winners, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Bruce also praised Darlow for his efforts last season, noting via the Daily Mail: “We’ve had to call on him a bit too much at times, but there’s no denying he’s been terrific all season.”
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