The Daly Brief | Newcastle vs Spurs, Carabao Cup | OneFootball

"Newcastle United are the Carabao Cup holders and come into this after four wins in five games. How have they coped without Alexander Isak and will Thomas Frank, as he did at Everton, produce another surprise tactical tweak?"

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Replacing Isak...

Nick Woltemade has handled the rigours of Premier League football well, as he attempts to replace last season’s 27-goal striker Isak, now at Liverpool. Woltemade’s 6 foot 6 height is an obvious asset, as seen with his headed goals against Wolves and Arsenal. But there’s more to him than that, evident by his wonderful backheel goal at Brighton recently and the way he starred at the European Under-21 Championships for Germany. While finishing as the competition’s top scorer, he also showed real quality with his strength, skill and the ability to link play as they reached the final, with smart touches that drew Dimitar Berbatov comparisons. Fulham got extremely physical with him in their 2-1 defeat on Saturday, with Eddie Howe saying some of the challenges on him 'were fouls that weren't given... I think Nick felt the same way' but the Newcastle boss added, 'Nick is going to have to come up with all sorts of different challenges from defenders... some might go aggressive, some might go a little bit more withdrawn and he needs to find a solution to figure out how best to play against that, and we'll help him with that'.

Many wide threats...

Regardless, the summer signing from Stuttgart is a perfect foil to work the ball into Newcastle’s quick wingers. You only need to see the way Woltemade linked with Anthony Gordon to eventually thread the ball into Harvey Barnes for one of two breakaway goals in the 3-0 win over Benfica last week. Their opener that night in the Champions League involved Jacob Murphy who was played into the right channel before whipping in a low cross to Gordon to tap in. Murphy was also on the scoresheet himself at the weekend as Newcastle beat Fulham, scoring the opener by dispossessing Calvin Bassey near the halfway line and racing through to beat Bernd Leno. £55m was spent on winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest and, while a wait for a first goal for the club goes on, only Mo Salah (18) and Murphy (12) had more than his 11 Premier league assists last season.

How much will Newcastle rotate?

While Eddie Howe made seven changes for their win in the last round against Bradford, bringing in Aaron Ramsdale, Emil Krafth and Lewis Miley amongst others, I think we can anticipate a strong line up from Newcastle tonight. Perhaps a better indicator is how he approached last season’s fourth round home encounter with Chelsea. Five changes were made but Newcastle still started Nick Pope, Fabian Schar, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Gordon and Isak. "It is important for this game to make the right decision - we want to progress. The competition means a lot to us, we are current holders, we don't want to give that up easily,” said Howe on potential changes. "However, I have a squad, I need to try and get the balance right... there are players who need the football."

Surprise tactics at Everton...

Thomas Frank surprised many with his tactics at Everton on Sunday as Spurs won 3-0. Out of possession, the team set up in a 4-4-2 shape, with Mohammed Kudus playing centrally alongside Randal Kolo Muani, with Xavi Simons out wide. But for some spells in possession, Spurs looked almost 3-2-4-1 with Djed Spence the most advanced player out on the left, allowing Xavi to move centrally, while Brennan Johnson hugged the right touchline. “I think I sometimes try to change it a little bit, tweak it a little bit in the game. I wanted to have Brennan Johnson, who's very good from the right - his ability to run in behind and produce crosses as well,” explained Thomas. “Having Kudus a little bit more in the middle together with Xavi could create a little bit of an overload.” The Spurs boss also explained he plans to have 'a little bit of rotation' tonight, as has been seen in the Champions League - meaning players like Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Richarlison may hope for a recall in the North East.

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