Again, as in previous weeks, Rafa Benitez’s biggest call as Newcastle head to Burnley centres around the middle of the midfield.
Newcastle United have now lost just one of their last seven matches and head into the weekend’s action comfortable in the Premier League’s top half.
And fixtures against the big boys are still a few more weeks away, giving Rafa Benitez’s men further opportunities to get points on the board in the mean time.
The Magpies head to Burnley on Monday and their manager must decide whether to stick or twist.
In the case of the goalkeeper Rob Elliot and the defence, Benitez is likely to go again with the side that kept a clean sheet against Crystal Palace – even if left back Javier Manquillo ended that game hobbling badly. Massadio Haidara could be a potential replacement there.
It is in the middle of midfield where Benitez must make his biggest call, with Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and last week’s match-winner Mikel Merino offering a wealth of options.
Against a Burnley side who are not best known for their possession play, it would not be a surprise to Newcastle revert to the Shelvey-Merino partnership that faced Liverpool at the start of the month.
Out wide, Matt Ritchie and Christian Atsu have done enough to keep their places, while Ayoze Perez – despite some over-the-top criticism – has proven worthy of a starting berth.
Joselu should be able to hold off the challenge of Aleksandar Mitrovic for another week, but he must start threatening on a consistent basis, having failed to muster any effort of note against Palace.
Here’s how we expect Newcastle to line up at Burnley:
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