EDDIE HOWE has reported a clean bill of health as his Newcastle United side complete their preparations for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
Lewis Hall and Sven Botman have already been ruled out of the game against Liverpool because of injury, with Anthony Gordon also out of the final due to suspension following his sending off in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
Newcastle’s players were involved in a hard-fought encounter at West Ham on Monday night, winning 1-0, but they have all come out of the game at the London Stadium unscathed.
As a result, Howe’s main selection dilemmas ahead of Sunday’s game revolve around the choice of goalkeeper, with Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka both in contention to start, and which two of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes will play down the left-hand side.
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“We’ve got the long-term issues,” said Howe. “Lewis Hall is recovering after his operation now, Sven is recovering after his operation and Jamaal (Lascelles) is still making progress to come back. Anthony is suspended, but apart from that, we hope to have a full squad.”
Howe has spent the last few days pondering his team selection, but Newcastle’s players are yet to learn whether or not they be starting at Wembley.
“Everyone will find out at the same time when I name the team,” said the Magpies boss. “When that will be, I’ll leave that to myself.
“I think the team selection for these types of games will always be difficult because there’ll always be players who will be disappointed. Naturally, everyone wants to play in the bigger games, but I can only pick 11.”
