Newcastle United Champions League squad update as Eddie Howe snubs Sunderland suggestion
Eddie Howe spoke to the media ahead of Newcastle United’s Champions League clash at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night.
Eddie Howe insists Newcastle United’s full focus is on Wednesday night’s Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen despite two big games coming up afterwards.
The Magpies follow the trip to Germany with their shortest away trip of the Premier League season to local rivals Sunderland on Saturday.
After that, Newcastle host Fulham in the Carabao Cup quarter-final at St James’ Park on December 17 before hosting Chelsea in the Premier League the following Saturday.
Eddie Howe on Newcastle United team
Newcastle head into the game on the back of a 2-1 win over Burnley on Saturday with no fresh injury concerns, according to Howe.
John Ruddy was named on the bench against Burnley but will drop out of the matchday squad as he is not included in Newcastle’s Champions League squad. Jamaal Lascelles, Harrison Ashby and Mark Gillespie are also not included in the squad and are ineliglbe to feature though Gillespie has travelled with the squad.
The Magpies will also be boosted by the returning Yoane Wissa fresh from his debut off the bench on Saturday. The 29-year-old is likely to be named on the bench again and could make his Champions League debut this week.
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“Yeah, he looks positive,” Howe said on Wissa. “I think his body language has been very good.
“He felt boosted by coming on the pitch and playing. He's probably earlier than we would have wanted, but I think he's ready to take on minutes.
“The challenge we have now is we're going to have limited training time in between games to continue to develop his fitness, so it's going to be a balancing act.
“We've got to try and get right. But I think he showed in that 20 minutes his qualities and what he can bring, and I think we're going to get better.”
Howe has made several changes to the starting line-up in recent weeks, with six changes between the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur and the win over Burnley. More changes are expected on Wednesday evening.
“We bring our whole squad, who are fit,” Howe said. “Even if we do rotate players, we still bring them, they’re still part of the group.
“It’s a balancing act we’ve got to try and get right.”
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Eddie Howe snubs Sunderland suggestion
When discussing the potential rotation of his side, Howe was asked whether he has one eye on Sunday’s derby match at Sunderland in order to keep certain players fresh and available for the important Premier League tie.
But the Newcastle boss played down that suggestion with his side potentially just one win away from securing progress to the next stage of the Champions League.
“No, not necessarily [thinking about Sunderland],” Howe claimed. “I think we'll pick a team that I think will be strong tomorrow and hopefully strong on Sunday as well.
“We've got a few injuries, especially to our back line, which has been there for a few games now, and I think that's an area of concern for us.
“But we come in with a strong squad and we're ready for this week, which will, as you say, be two massive games for us, but we'll be ready for both.”