Newcastle United take on Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday night.
The Magpies are one of ten Premier League clubs still left in the competition – although at least three won’t make it through to the next round – but do not have entirely fond memories of Blackburn’s Ewood Park.
Newcastle needed extra-time to squeeze past Rovers when they last visited Lancashire in 2019 and have not earned a victory at Ewood Park since the two clubs were both in the Premier League a decade ago.
Here’s the lineup Eddie Howe may deploy to steer Newcastle into the FA Cup sixth round for the first time in four years.
GK: Loris Karius – The former Liverpool goalkeeper has not appeared in the FA Cup since lining up for a Merseyside derby in January 2018.
RB: Kieran Trippier – The buccaneering full-back is the first Newcastle player to rack up double digits for Premier League assists in a single season since Laurent Robert achieved the feat during the 2001/02 campaign.
CB: Fabian Schar – Endured a wretched outing against Arsenal but there’s little chance of Schar losing his starting berth.
CB: Sven Botman – Been an ever-present in a Newcastle backline that is yet to concede an FA Cup goal this season.
LB: Tino Livramento – With Trippier immovable from the right-back slot, Livramento has had to sniff out his opportunities on the opposite flank.
CM: Joe Willock – “I think I arrived a boy and have turned into a man,” Willock has said of his time at Newcastle.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – Suffering from severe imposter syndrome in his youth, Guimaraes admitted: “I’ve never heard many footballers talk about this, but when I started playing on a real team, I thought I sucked.” He doesn’t suck now.
CM: Sean Longstaff – This season alone, Longstaff has netted as many goals as he could muster across the previous four years.
RW: Miguel Almiron – The fleet-footed wide man has not scored for Newcastle outside of St James’ Park since finding the net in a 3-0 EFL Cup victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in November.
ST: Alexander Isak – Newcastle’s leading scorer bagged a brace in the Wear-Tyne derby against Sunderland in the FA Cup third round last month.
LW: Harvey Barnes – Injury has desperately hampered Barnes’ debut campaign but he could be in line for just his second start since September now he’s back fit again.
