Rafa Benitez names strong Newcastle starting XI for friendly
Rafa Benitez has named a strong Newcastle United starting XI for this afternoon's game against Royal Antwerp.
The two clubs are playing each other over three 45-minute periods at the Pinatar Arena in Spain (11am kick-off GMT).
Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Ritchie, Christian Atsu and Mikel Merino all start at the 3,500-capacity stadium.
Karl Darlow (shoulder) and Islam Slimani (thigh) are not involved.
Victor Fernandez and Nathan Harker, called up from the Under-23 squad, are on the bench.
The game was arranged after the club was left with a 21-day break in its Premier League fixture list.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Dubravka; Manquillo, Mbemba, Lejeune, Haidara; Ritchie, Shelvey, Merino, Murphy; Atsu, Joselu. Subs: Harker, Yedlin, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett, Hayden, Diame, Kenedy, Fernandez, Perez, Gayle.