With Newcastle United in Champions League action last night, we take a look at the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) learnings from their routine win over Qarabag.
RESULT
| Team | Opposition | Result | Goals | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | Qarabag (h) | 3-2 win | Tonali, Joelinton, Botman | Osula, Barnes, Trippier |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| TEAM | CHANGES FROM GAMEWEEK 27 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (+ MINS) | OTHER PLAYERS (+ MINS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | 7 | Burn (90), Tonali (90), Woltemade (90), Trippier (53) | Ramsdale (90), Barnes (90), Alex Murphy (90), Joelinton (87), Osula (73), Jacob Murphy (53), Botman (53), Hall (37), Willock (37), Gordon (37), Wissa (17), Shahar (3) |
RESTS FOR KEY NAMES AHEAD OF GAMEWEEK 28
Such was the margin of the first-leg victory, Eddie Howe was able to ring the changes for the home encounter with Qarabag. Giving tired legs a well-earned rest, his side still emerged with a 3-2 victory.
Howe kept only Dan Burn (£5.0m), Sandro Tonali (£5.3m), Nick Woltemade (£6.8m) and Kieran Trippier (£4.9m) from the XI that lost narrowly at Manchester City in Gameweek 27, with the first three all playing the full 90 minutes.
Howe limited Lewis Hall (£5.3m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) to 37-minute run-outs in the second half.
DEFENSIVE CONCERNS LINGER
The St James’ Park faithful looked like they were going to be treated to another cricket score when the Magpies raced into a two-goal lead within six minutes. A back-to-his-best Tonali notched his first Champions League goal from close range before Joelinton (£5.9m) finished Harvey Barnes’ (£6.1m) left-wing cross with a crisp first-time volley.
Newcastle became sloppy after a bright opening 20 minutes and, during a second half that became even more disjointed due to a series of substitutions, allowed Qarabag two goals that gave the second leg a respectable scoreline.
The first Qarabag goal was a rudimentary long ball and flick-on that sliced through Newcastle’s rearguard far too easily. The second was a bit of a ‘European’ penalty conceded by Burn for allowing the ball to hit his hand while sliding to make a tackle. That spot-kick was missed but the rebound was tucked away.
Although difficult to make judgements with the starting XI changes, the tie already won and a rookie like Alex Murphy (£3.8m) in the side, Howe would have wanted to end the clean sheet drought:
- 0 clean sheets in the last 10 matches in all competitions
- 3 clean sheets in the last 28 matches in all competitions
BOTMAN + WISSA RETURN, WOLTEMADE IN MIDFIELD AGAIN
If the defence didn’t cover themselves in glory, Sven Botman (£4.9m) did at least mark his return from injury with a reminder to FPL managers of his aerial threat from set-pieces. The Dutchman rose to thump in a firm header from a whipped Trippier corner a minute after Qarabag’s first goal.
His recovery gives Howe the option to further rest Hall in future, by pushing Burn to left-back.
Yoane Wissa (£7.3m) also made a 27-minute cameo, after having missed the last few weeks with what Howe described as a “nasty injury”.
Despite the availability of all three of Newcastle’s ‘proper’ forwards, expect Gordon to be leading the line in Gameweeks 28 and 29.
Will Osula (£5.4m) was handed a rare start up front on Tuesday but was poor, while Wissa has shown little positive in his time on Tyneside so far.
As for Woltemade, he’s seemingly now a midfielder!
Howe persisted with the forward in the engine room and, unlike in previous run-outs in the middle, Woltemade didn’t cover himself in glory. The Germany international was unfortunate, however, that Jacob Murphy (£5.9m) fluffed his lines after putting him through with an exquisite back-heel.
Howe, who has been trying different ways to get a tune out of his summer signing, admitted big Nick had an off-night.
“It’s the least he has affected the game in the time that he’s played in that position, but I thought there were some really good bits in amongst that. He was really, really limited in space. It’s a new challenge for him, something that he’s going to have to overcome, but I don’t think it was necessarily his fault. I don’t think the team functioned well after going two goals up so early on.” – Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade’s performance
FURTHER FIXTURE CONGESTION AHEAD FOR MAGPIES
While this victory is undoubtedly good news for the club and their fans, Newcastle’s progression makes their assets less appealing from an FPL perspective.
The Magpies have already shown that they do not have a squad deep enough to compete on both fronts (Howe described it as “really fragile”) and while they may well spring some more surprises in Europe, that will surely only lead to more rotation and FPL frustration for owners of Newcastle assets.
“The challenge now returning to the Premier League is to build some consistency in our performances. We’ve had a really good run, we’ve won four out of five, and we’ve got some big games coming up now, starting with Everton. We’re desperate to get out Premier League form back on track”
– Eddie Howe on Premier League form
Newcastle have played every weekend and midweek since Christmas. Thanks to this play-off result, that will run will go on till the March international break!
RAMSEY INJURY NOT SERIOUS
Finally, one more fitness update.
Jacob Ramsey (£5.3m) missed out completely due to a hamstring injury. Howe said he was hopeful it is going to be a short-term problem.
“We hope it’s nothing serious. He’s just felt tightness in his hamstring and he’s had a scan which came back all clear. Hopefully it will be a quick improvement and he’ll be back involved hopefully in time for the next game.“ – Eddie Howe on Jacob Ramsey’s injury
