We continue our midweek round-up of Champions League action with a look at the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from an impressive win by Newcastle United.
- READ MORE: Wednesday notes (pt. 1) – Salah up top, Enzo 10, Sanchez boost + Palmer injury
- READ MORE: Tuesday notes (pt. 1) – Haaland’s 90 mins, Foden subbed again + time for Guehi
- READ MORE: Tuesday notes (pt. 2) – Rests for Gabriel + Rice… but 90 mins for Saka
RESULT
| Team | Opponent – competition | Result | Goals | Assists |
| Newcastle United | PSV (h) | 3-0 win | Wissa, Gordon, Barnes | Joelinton, Wissa |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW22 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
| Newcastle United | 1 | Pope (90), Trippier (87), Thiaw (90), Botman (90), Hall (90), Bruno Guimaraes (45), Tonali (90), Joelinton (72), Barnes (90), Gordon (72) | Wissa (72), Miley (45), Ramsey (28), Woltemade (28), Elanga (28), Willock (3) |
FRONT THREE FIRING
Eddie Howe’s selection of Harvey Barnes (£6.1m), Yoane Wissa (£7.3m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) was rewarded by a goal from all three.
Eddie Howe selected a 4-3-3, with Wissa flanked by Gordon and Barnes, and their high-octane high pressing forced mistakes for each of the first two goals. Bruno Guimaraes (£7.3m) pounced on a poor clearance by goalkeeper Matej Kovar and fizzed a pass to Joelinton (£5.9m) to tee up Wissa for a dream start to his Champions League debut just nine minutes in.
Wissa then hounded Yarek Gasiorowski, dispossessing him and setting up Gordon for a simple tap-in on the half-hour. The match was never in doubt thereafter, Newcastle dominating on the xG 2.45 to 0.29.
“Really good performance from us. A difficult opponent, tactically, they are tough to play against. We were rewarded with some really good goals today. Really good night for Yoane Wissa and I am really pleased for him. In part, he came to this club for nights like today.
– Eddie Howe on Yoane Wissa’s display
Their third goal came from another PSV error, Barnes picking up an errant header, haring into the area and driving a smart shot across goal for his fifth Champions League goal of the season.
Barnes is having a fantastic campaign. He is Newcastle’s top scorer with 12 goals. The only problem from an FPL standpoint is that most of them have come in other competitions; he has five in the English top flight.
Similarly, Gordon’s goal is both encouraging and frustrating for his owners. Only two of his nine goals this term have come in the Premier League. He did produce the most shots here, though. The England international fired off three of Newcastle’s 11 goal attempts, compared to Wissa’s two and Barnes’s one.
BAD NEWS FOR BRUNO OWNERS – BUT GOOD FOR MILEY?
An injury to Newcastle’s captain did rain on their parade somewhat. The Brazilian tried to soldier on gamely after taking a knock to the ankle in the first half but Howe took him off before the half-time whistle, and there have to be doubts as to his availability for the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday.
“Yeah, a little bit sore, it’s an ankle problem, a little bit of swelling in his ankle having just seen him. We hope it’s not serious, difficult to know. I think Bruno’s the type of player that never wants to come off, he always wants to play, so the fact he has come off is a worry for us. We’ll do everything we can to get him fit as quickly as possible.” – Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes’ injury
Needless to say, an injury to Bruno will be a blow for his owners. The South American midfielder has delivered double-digit returns in three of the last four matches and will be hard to replace at his price-point.
Lewis Miley (£4.5m), Bruno’s replacement, could well get a run of matches now if Bruno is out. However, anyone considering him as a budget differential should bear in mind that the fixtures are starting to get tougher for the Magpies, with Villa (h), Liverpool (a), Brentford (h), Spurs (a) and Man City (a) to come next, not to mention PSG next week and Villa and Man City in the domestic cups.
ANOTHER 90 MINUTES FOR HALL – BUT RELIEF ARRIVING SOON
Howe will at least be pleased with the clean sheet, especially considering the cluster of defensive injuries his side has suffered. Fabian Schar (£5.3m), Tino Livramento (£4.9m) and Dan Burn (£5.0m) have been sorely missed but Malick Thiaw (£5.1m), who has been a bonus magnet of late, and Sven Botman (£4.9m) were never really threatened.
Lewis Hall (£5.3m) turned in another 9/10 display that is becoming the norm for him. Since Gameweek 16, among defenders, he ranks second for crosses delivered (40) and seventh for chances created (eight), Only Patrick Dorgu (£4.3m) has produced more big chances than the Toon full-back’s two in that time. Were Newcastle’s fixtures kinder, Hall would be worthy of consideration.
At least the cavalry is arriving in the towering form of Burn, who is as likely to fill in at left-back as centre-half in weeks to come. Burn is already back in training and could be in the squad this weekend.
Expect Hall to get a breather in the near future.
“We have to manage him very carefully, but we’re hamstrung to a degree on how much we can, as we are without a number of players in our backline.
“I think Lewis has done really well, actually, I think he’s looked better and better. He’s able to last games now, whereas when he first came back, it was 60 minutes and you could see he was visibly getting fatigued.
“He looks strong, but we don’t take that for granted and of course, behind the scenes we’re working very hard to try to keep him fit.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall
