[Damien]

Rashford and Martial still starting
Good to see Mata get another start, was excellent vs Huddersfield. Sanchez and Lukaku to both come on and both score, hopefully Fred can have a positive sub as well.

Surprising given all the rumours the press are coming out with Guess nobody has told Ole.

No sanchez ins tarting 11

He's been injured for ages. Likely to start against Reading along with Lukaku. We might see Chong/Gomes then as well.

 

[Jib]

Valencia and Mata

 

[Giant Midget]

Not too happy to see Mata in there. Thought it’d be Lingard plus Sanchez would get 30 mins at the end.

I guess Ole things Newcastle will sit back, and Mata would be key to unlocking a deep defense.

 

[Beachryan]

Valencia and Mata

Why the Mata comment? He's been great recently.

 

[Prodigy24]

Not a bad starting eleven, even though I'd preferred a faster player than Mata on the wing. Hope Valencia has a good game bombing forward on the right.

 

[Escobar]

That right side doesn't look good....

Will be our weak spot tonight, I'm pretty sure. Mata and Valencia? Bit disappointed

 

[el3mel]

Why the Mata comment? He's been great recently.

They usually have been a dreadful combo on the right as they both barely run. Young or Dalot balances it a little bit.

 

[Jib]

Why the Mata comment? He's been great recently.

too slow

 

[Tiber]

Aside from our esteemed captain, I am very happy with the lineup

 

[bosnian_red]

Surprising given all the rumours the press are coming out with Guess nobody has told Ole.


He's been injured for ages. Likely to start against Reading along with Lukaku. We might see Chong/Gomes then as well.

Yeah, think it's pretty clear that Ole loves Rashford, Martial, Lingard and obviously Pogba. He'll use everyone but if I'd put money on those 4 being his core attack if he had any input in our long term project.

 

[Nate Dogg]

Mata for Lingard is a positive move, I guess if things don't work out then Sanchez will come on for second half.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Would have preferred to see Sanchez rather than Mata.

 

[jymufc20]

Sanchez not starting is the biggest blow for me. Mata is great, but I think Sanchez and his pace today would be a great addition.

He has just come back from injury, he was never starting this one.

 

[Bratt]

What’s the deal with all the Valencia hate here? Yes, I know he’s been really bad lately, but so has plenty of other players. Look at Matic, everyone (me included) wanted him as far away from the team as possible, and now he’s playing really well. Give Valencia a chance to play a game or two under Ole before giving him all this hate, please.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Spoiler

Had to go to Twitter to check it out.

Ah, fair enough. That is annoying. On my phone using Safari I don’t have any issues viewing the team.

 

[rooney2009]

Mata doesn't have the legs to play an attacking role in this team imo.

This

 

[Tincanalley]

Fellaini has worked hard for us and scored some important goals. Whatever changes now, he deserves a little respect. No need to be a cnut. We really outdid ourselves with Shaw in the summer. Time to act like our current manager, not the last one.

Corrr... eckt! Seriously, decent post.

 

[Devil may care]

I'm surprised Lingard has been dropped, that dynamic front 3 is pretty integral to how we've played. Fred gets back on the bench and turnback Tony gets an unwarranted start out of nowhere.

 

[Jib]

Mata doesn't have the legs to play an attacking role in this team imo.

spot on

 

[Bastian]

I was a lot more concerned about Bailly-Lindelof pairing in the last match than Valencia and Mata. Valencia is OK defensively, he just offers nothing going forward. Let's see if he's different under Ole.

I suspect Sanchez will come on at HT and slot in on the right.

 

[haram]

Lukaku, Sanchez and Lingard off the bench are powerful subs.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Not too happy to see Mata in there. Thought it’d be Lingard plus Sanchez would get 30 mins at the end.

I guess Ole things Newcastle will sit back, and Mata would be key to unlocking a deep defense.

jesse played the full 90 for our last two games didnt he? prob needs a rest

 

[Random Task]

Not too happy to see Mata in there. Thought it’d be Lingard plus Sanchez would get 30 mins at the end.

I guess Ole things Newcastle will sit back, and Mata would be key to unlocking a deep defence.

It's Lingard's turn in the rotation I guess. Plus Mata tends to work better with Valencia.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Valencia and Mata.

Yeah, our right side doesn't look promising...

But Herrera is playing, and remember the good chemistry between him and Mata. Dial back to the days when Valencia remember how to overlap, those three playing together the combination is impressive. It's when only Mata/Lingard at RW and Valencia starting, while Herrera out or benched, those times our right is so off.

Not too worried since Herrera is there, come on Valencia.

 

[Sied]

Mata doesn't have the legs to play an attacking role in this team imo.

They'll probably sit so deep Ole wants Mata's eye for a pass rather than raw pace everywhere.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

The Valencia-Herrera-Mata trio actually has a very good history together and I remember them being a big part of some of our big performances over the last few years. They always have a good understanding and link up with each other, more so than with other players.

This.

 

[RedCurry]

I'm surprised Lingard has been dropped, that dynamic front 3 is pretty integral to how we've played. Fred gets back on the bench and turnback Tony gets an unwarranted start out of nowhere.

It's just a rest. I imagine that he'll start the FA cup game while Rashford gets rest.

 

[MonkeysMagic]

Looking at the Newc lineup and formation, it makes absolute sense to have Mata in the team. Mata is going to be hardly required to track back against marauding Newc players, his intelligence to unlock a 7-3 defence will be required up front!

 

[haram]

Mata does put a shift in regardless, im sure he’ll be fine. Even if he starts to tire around the 60th min we have options.

 

[Smores]

Valencia starting is fecked up but rest of the team looks alright

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Sanchez not starting is the biggest blow for me. Mata is great, but I think Sanchez and his pace today would be a great addition.

Not sure he has much pace any more to be fair.

 

[Pexbo]

Mata not having the legs is nonsense.

He’s almost always at the top of our distance covered stats despite only ever playing 70/80 mins at most.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

Great squad. I’m not that bothered about Valencia coming in as St James’ Park is sometimes a tricky place to go and some experience could do the team good.

Experience yeah, shame about his ability to hold an offside line, spot/follow runners take a man on....

Liked him years ago as a winger and thanks for the service but I'd rather keep Phil Jones over Valencia.

 

[Bola]

Mixed feelings on that line up.

Overall I'm happy, but I feel Ole has made a bad mistake if we line up as a 433. Mata on the Right and Valencia at RB is the worst possible combination and effectively means we will offer little pace, dangerous crossing or dribbling on that flank. That could mean everything going down the left and makes Newcastle's job far easier. I saw this too often under Bowen and hope Ole is setting them up as a 4312 with Rashford regularly going put to the right

Also annoyed to see that no youth players are being given a chance. Could have been a great opportunity for Chong tonight

 

[ChaddyP]

I'm happy to see valencia start Just so I could see you all moan and fecking groan

 

[JonDahl]

I’m happy with Mata, bring a bit of guile to the attack.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Surprised so many are hating on Mata starting. Thought he was excellent against Huddersfield.

 

[Judas]

Valencia and Mata starting makes us a bit lob sided usually, hopefully that’s not the case tonight.

 

[Canagel]

Wasn't expecting Valencia but the rest of the team looks good.

 

[RedCurry]

We need to make sure that we win a free-kick in Mata territory.

 

[HaliRed]

Looking at the Newc lineup and formation, it makes absolute sense to have Mata in the team. Mata is going to be hardly required to track back against marauding Newc players, his intelligence to unlock a 7-3 defence will be required up front!

Exactly