Eddie Howe to make 'difficult' Newcastle United calls on Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak

Howe’s side take on Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final this afternoon looking to win the club’s first trophy in almost 54 years.

Howe has midfielder Bruno Guimaraes back from a three-game suspension, while striker Callum Wilson, a substitute last weekend, is now fully fit after recovering from the “minor hamstring complaint” which kept him out against Bournemouth – and pushing for a start.

Winger Allan Saint-Maximin had his best game for some time against Liverpool last weekend alongside striker Alexander Isak, and Howe – who hopes to have midfielder Joe Willock back from a hamstring injury – will have to “disappoint” some players.

“Yeah, I think I do have some decisions to make with the team,” said United's head coach. “Whenever you have a game like this, that decision will be difficult, because you’ll be disappointing some players that you love.

"So that’s always a difficult situation when you’re in my shoes. But I’d much rather have those options than no options at all.

"Maxi and Alex played really well together. The team functioned really well with 10 men against a world-class team, so I was pleased with lots of what happened on Saturday.

"Disappointed with the goals we concede, very unlike us. It’s something we’ve reviewed, but we really have to put all that to one side for this game, one-off game. We just need to get the players really confident and believing in themselves.”