Manchester City would love to be in Newcastle United's position but it's far from ideal for Howe
Manchester City have publicly bemoaned their hectic schedule of late and will no doubt be looking on enviously after Newcastle United saw their Carabao Cup tie with AFC Wimbledon cancelled this week. Eddie Howe, however, will feel it is a major opportunity missed to right the wrongs of Saturday before his side welcome the champions to St James' Park at the weekend.
After Saturday's dismal drubbing at Fulham, the Magpies had, on paper, an ideal chance to get their season firmly back on track with a confident and reassuring display against a side currently in the fourth tier of English football. While other sides would use this as an opportunity to rest key men, there's absolutely no suggestion Howe would have done as such.
History shows the Newcastle boss has been unwavering in his commitment to taking the Carabao Cup just as serious as any other competition, given the fact it is the best chance of silverware for the north east outfit. Last December, as injuries took their toll on the thin squad at Howe's disposal, he still resisted the temptation to tinker too much.
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“Absolutely not,” was Howe’s straight reply when he was asked whether he would instead concentrate on league fixtures, rather than a quarter-final clash with Chelsea. “We want the games, we want the competition. We want the excitement of challenging for trophies. That’s where we have to be – not just now but in the future."
In the last round, as Newcastle edged beyond Nottingham Forest on penalties, Howe dropped another big hint he won't be tempted by deploying a weakened team in this particular cup going forward.
Starts were handed to Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, Joelinton, Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes. Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Sean Longstaff were on called upon from the sidelines. This is a manager who wants to go deep into this competition.
A host of those names would too have been in action at the Cherry Red Records Stadium in midweek, had the pitch not began to collapse in on itself after heavy rainfall in the capital in the early hours of Monday morning. After all, this is a Newcastle team struggling, despite only losing their first outing of the campaign on Saturday at Craven Cottage.
Howe will have seen this trip as the perfect opportunity for his underperforming stars to fire an instant response in the hope of calming nerves among the St James' Park faithful - both inside and outside the club.
As for Manchester City, they are facing their own struggles as they wrestle with a monster fixture list. Pep Guardiola's side played out a tense 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday evening and play Watford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before travelling to Tyneside this weekend.
Guardiola, and fellow countryman Rodri, have made no secret of their discontent at the amount of games they are having to play given the new Champions League format and the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup pencilled in for next summer. Should City go deep in all competitions this term, some players may end up featuring over 80 times.
"It is not just Rodri (speaking out), it is many, many players, and not just in this country, but around the world people are starting to talk, so we will see," Guardiola said last week.
City could have done with a postponement of their own Carabao Cup clash but will instead field a much-changed side against Tuesday's Championship opponents, while again reverting to full strength at St James' Park on Saturday.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will benefit from their now-empty schedule in the run up to the City showdown but Howe will no doubt be cursing the fact his players will now miss the opportunity to get the Fulham result out of their system.