Newcastle United host Leeds United this evening under real pressure to end their dismal run of form in the Premier League and prevent themselves from sliding further down the table towards the relegation zone.
The Magpies suffered a fifth successive defeat in all competitions on Saturday night, deservedly beaten 2-0 by an Aston Villa side who looked miles better than Newcastle throughout the 90 minutes at Villa Park. That has also stretched the winless run in the Premier League to eight matches, while it has been 10 games in all competitions since their last win, 2-1 against West Brom in mid-December (Transfermarkt).
The forlorn streak for Steve Bruce’s side began with a 5-2 battering at Leeds, a performance which drew plenty of criticism from supporters. Since that match at Elland Road, the Magpies have continued to produce uninspiring performance, which has left the Newcastle manager with tough questions to answer over his potential future at the club.
It has been reported that Mike Ashley will not sack Bruce unless the Magpies are in danger of suffering relegation and are inside the bottom three in the Premier League. However, there is clearly a view inside the club that something needs to change, with coach Graeme Jones being lined up to come in and provide some assistance to the rest of the coaching staff.
It will be interesting to see theformation and team that Bruce is able to select against Leeds, with the Magpies having reverted to a central back three against Villa after deploying more of a 4-4-2 against Arsenal. There is a desperate need to find the right shape to enable them to be more creative and potent in the final third; we reckon he might go with a 5-4-1 this evening.
Here is how we think Bruce could line up his Newcastle side for the visit of Leeds United, with one key man coming back into the side in the only change from the defeat at Villa Park…
