Eddie Howe’s surprise Newcastle United starting XI to face Aston Villa - based on pre-season minutes played

Newcastle United’s pre-season preparations have now concluded. Seven games played have resulted in five wins, two draws and no defeats as Eddie Howe prepares his side for a new Premier League season.

And first up for Newcastle is a dangerous game against Aston Villa - the side they shared six goals with during the Premier League Summer Series. A competitive pre-season means the Magpies head into Saturday’s game full of confidence and Howe has a few big selection calls to make.

Whether it’s at the back with Fabian Schar’s injury set to keep him out the team, in midfield with Howe having five or six players to select from, or up-front with calls to be made over Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak and who starts out wide. There are plenty of decisions for United’s head coach to make ahead of their clash with Unai Emery’s side.

Here, we take a look at what the starting XI would look like based on who played the most minutes during pre-season:

Nick Pope/Martin Dubravka (225 minutes played)

Kieran Trippier (375 minutes played)

Dan Burn (354 minutes played)

Sven Botman (270 minutes played)

Matt Targett (360 minutes played)

Elliot Anderson (359 minutes played)

Lewis Miley (316 minutes played)

Bruno Guimaraes/Sandro Tonali (270 minutes played)

Matt Ritchie (279 minutes played)

Miguel Almiron (272 minutes played)

Anthony Gordon (270 minutes played)