Newcastle United leaked 20-man squad v Nottingham Forest as Sandro Tonali hint dropped

Newcastle’s first-team players have arrived at St James’ Park with Eddie Howe’s starting line-up set to be confirmed at 12:45pm. Changes are expected from The Magpies’ 4-0 defeat at Manchester City last time out in the Premier League.

Kieran Trippier is expected to drop out in place of Tino Livramento while there have been calls for Lewis Miley to be handed his first Premier League start of the season. There was pre-match speculation that Sandro Tonali could drop out of the starting line-up due to a muscle issue.

While the Italian is part of the matchday squad, he does indeed drop to the bench.

There are no unexpected absentees from the Newcastle matchday squad with only the injured Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles and Joelinton not present.

Sandro Tonali ‘a key figure’ for Newcastle United

Tonali was on the bench for Newcastle’s 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest in November but has since proven himself as a key player in Howe’s side in recent months.

“Sandro has become a key figure in our midfield,” Howe admitted. “It's well-documented how good he is on the ball – he's very calm, composed, positive with his passing, very good technically.

“But I just think the off-the-ball work that he does, the transitional aspect of his play has been of the highest level and he's really helped our midfield cope, especially in the away games that we've performed well in.

“In part, that's down to his off-the-ball work. His defensive mindset has been of the very highest level and it's definitely helped the team.”

Goalkeeper decision for Eddie Howe

Martin Dubravka has started every Newcastle match in the Premier League since Nick Pope’s injury 10 games ago. The Slovakian has since been rewarded with a new contract but that could come with losing his place in the starting line-up with Howe facing a difficult decision now Pope is back fully fit and available.

Pope has historically been Howe’s first choice goalkeeper when fit since his arrival in 2022.

Discussing the selection dilemma in goal, Howe said on Friday: “I think for me, Nick's come back from an injury. Now, Nick was pushing to come back early, really, from the assessment I think was given six weeks from his knee injury.

“He ended up, I think, at five - he did very well to come back. But Nick's just been, I think, getting his feel back. I think goalkeeping is such a unique position, getting your rhythm back as a goalkeeper.

“[He] got good game minutes against Birmingham, which has been great for him, and I thought he performed well. So, the battle you talk about, really, for me, is just trying to see both players at their best levels and then, of course, it's my job to pick one.”

Newcastle United confirmed line-up v Nottingham Forest

Newcastle United’s confirmed starting XI v Forest: Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Miley, Willock; Murphy, Gordon, Isak

Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, Tonali, Wilson, Barnes, Targett, Krafth, Osula, Longstaff