by
Newcastle United travel south to face Leicester City in the Premier League on Boxing Day.
No team has lost more Premier League games (15) or conceded more goals (44) on the day after Christmas than Newcastle. Leicester have shipped 36 Boxing Day goals themselves, the second-highest tally in the competition’s history.
Here’s the XI Eddie Howe may deploy to ensure his Magpies don’t add to that total.
GK: Nick Pope – One of 150 players that went to the World Cup but didn’t get a single minute of action in Qatar.
RB: Kieran Trippier – No Premier League player has been involved in more chances created from set pieces than the prolific Trippier.
CB: Fabian Schar – Few players in Newcastle’s squad will have a better understanding of the financial might their new owners wield than Schar, who worked in a bank and studied economics at the start of his career.
CB: Sven Botman – Across his 16 appearances for Newcastle since arriving in the summer, Botman is yet to taste defeat (W11 D5).
LB: Dan Burn – The towering, versatile defender has lost to Leicester more often than any other club in his senior career (six defeats).
CM: Sean Longstaff – The chugging engine of Newcastle’s midfield, Longstaff is integral to Howe’s proactive approach off the ball.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – It’s safe to say that the silky Brazilian has won the hearts of Newcastle’s famously passionate fanbase. “Honestly, I get so much love on the streets that sometimes it feels like I’m the mayor,” he revealed in September.
CM: Joelinton – Newcastle’s £40m new number nine upon his arrival in 2019 is now a re-imagined number seven that leads the team for tackles and blocks.
RW: Miguel Almiron – Since October, Almiron has outscored four Premier League clubs (netting seven goals in eight league games).
ST: Callum Wilson – An individual that thrives in the face of doubts. “I get so much satisfaction from proving people wrong,” Wilson claims.
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin – Newcastle’s chief trickster hasn’t started a Premier League match since August – although he volleyed in a 90th-minute equaliser against Wolves that day.
