Newcastle United v West Brom: Morrison weighs up changes in predicted Albion XI | OneFootball

James Morrison faces a tricky selection call for Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie at Newcastle, keen to respect the competition and repay more than 2,000 travelling West Brom fans. He would also relish progress to round three.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, the lunchtime league trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday comes little over 60 hours later, with Albion staying in the north east, so logistics and workloads are testing. The predicted team aims to balance competitiveness with rotation.

The predicted XI opts for four changes, handing places to Chris Mepham, Conor Townsend, Rabby Nzingoula and Barney Stewart. The core remains, with Max O’Leary in goal and Nat Phillips at right centre-back, while Jayson Molumby keeps his place after a coin toss with Ousmane Diakite, with both needed on Saturday.

Felix Horn Myhre features to build minutes as he finds his feet. With Isaac Price and Jimmy-Jay Morgan involved, Albion could still carry a threat against an altered Newcastle side, who are under new management and have Tottenham away on Saturday evening.

Aune Heggebo serves the second match of a two-game ban, and Mikey Johnston is injured. Youngsters Alex Williams and Ollie Bostock are on the bench, and starting the pair at St James’ Park is seen as a big ask, though there is hope for minutes.

Predicted XI, four-four-two: Max O’Leary, Nolan Galves, Nat Phillips, Chris Mepham, Conor Townsend, Felix Horn Myhre, Jayson Molumby, Rabby Nzingoula, Isaac Price, Barney Stewart, Jimmy-Jay Morgan. Substitutes: Ingram (gk), Williams, Campbell, Bielik, Styles, Diakite, Whitwell, Bany, Bostock.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”