Newcastle United will be looking to end their run of two straight defeats in the Premier League as they face Tottenham today.

The Magpies lost 1-0 to both Chelsea and Everton away from home in their last two top-flight outings prior to the international break and now face the prospect of a third successive loss.

They were beaten by an Alex Iwobi goal last time out as they struggled at Goodison Park in a game marred by a pitch invader locking himself to a goal post.

How many changes will Howe make to his team from that clash? Here is our predicted XI…

Martin Dubravka; Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Matt Targett; Jonjo Shelvey, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Ryan Fraser, Chris Wood, Allan Saint-Maximin (4-3-3)

We are predicting that the head coach will make three alterations to the side, with Shelvey, Manquillo and Saint-Maximin all coming back in.

Starting off in the defence, Emil Krafth may find himself on the bench in favour of his Spanish colleague. The Sweden international has been a lightweight throughout the campaign, losing 53% of his duels and 63% of his aerial battles, and could be exposed against the talent of Heung-Min Son.

Whilst Manquillo has not been sensational in the Premier League, he has won a solid 64% of his overall duels in the top-flight – winning 59% of his aerial battles. This suggests that he is the stronger option, defensively, out of the two and that is why he may start at right-back.

In midfield, Joe Willock could be axed in favour of Shelvey. Matt Ritchie previously dubbed the ex-Liverpool man as “unbelievable” and his form in the Premier League this season for the Magpies has justified his praise. The gem has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 throughout the campaign, showing that he has consistently delivered on the pitch.

Willock, who Freddie Ljungberg previously dubbed as “passive”, has averaged an underwhelming score of 6.73. As per SofaScore, the dud was dribbled past twice, failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles and completed 68% of his passes in the 1-0 defeat to Everton, which is why he may now find himself on the bench.

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Finally, we are predicting that French forward Saint-Maximin will take up Miguel Almiron’s place. FFC published an article explaining why he should start and he should come in for the Paraguay international.

The ex-MLS star has been nowhere near good enough for the Toon this season. In 22 Premier League appearances, he has failed to produce a single goal or assist whilst averaging a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.60, which is why he should be dropped to the bench in favour of the former Nice man.

AND in other news, Howe must finally unleash “breathtaking” £93k-p/w Newcastle gem, he’s what they need…

Manchester City have now identified a “stunning” £35m star as a top target, as there is a belief he could be an ideal fit in Pep Guardiola’s system.

Man City send out message with victory at Crystal Palace

Man City have struggled defensively at times this season, recently shipping four goals in the dramatic 5-4 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage, but they made a statement with their victory against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Not only were Pep Guardiola’s side solid at the back, keeping their second clean sheet on the spin in the Premier League, but they were also potent going forward, with Erling Haaland bagging a brace, and Phil Foden netting his seventh league goal this term.

However, while there is still a long way to go, the Blues remain two points behind Arsenal as things stand, and a fresh injection of quality in the January transfer window could boost their chances of catching Mikel Arteta’s side.

Man City are keen to improve their attacking options, with it emerging they are now leading contenders to sign AFC Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, and the Ghanaian is not the only Premier League star they have their eye on.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Man City are now preparing to step up their move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who has been identified as a top target, as there is a feeling he could thrive in Guardiola’s system.

Liverpool remain in the race to sign Guehi, having nearly signed the centre-back during the summer, before the move fell through at the last minute, but it may take a relatively large fee to prise him away from the Eagles.

Although the Englishman’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, there have been suggestions that it could take around £35m to get a deal done this winter.

"Stunning" Guehi could be ideal signing for Man City

Nathan Ake is reportedly keen to leave City during the upcoming transfer window, which means it may be important to bring in a new centre-back, and the Palace captain could be the ideal addition to Guardiola’s squad.

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The 25-year-old is vastly experienced at Premier League level, having made 147 appearances in the competition, and he received high praise for a solid display in a 3-0 victory against Aston Villa earlier this season.

The 26-time England international has continued to impress in December, making a number of important contributions in Palace’s 1-0 victory against Burnley, which earned him a SofaScore match rating of 8.8.

Marc Guehi’s key stats vs Burnley

Number completed

Duels (won)

10 (10)

Assists

1

Clearances

10

Signing Guehi could give Man City a real boost in the Premier League title race, and they should definitely make a move in January.

The fact that it took until the 27th of December for a manager to be sacked was a bit of a revelation for the Premier League – this time last year, five managers (25%) had already taken their leave.

But Neil Warnock’s abrupt dismissal has set the unforgiving iron-clad ball in motion. Roberto Martinez, who guided Everton excellently last year, suddenly seems vulnerable after taking one point in 21 while Nigel Pearson and Steve Bruce’s declines at Hull have received significant amounts of attention and scrutiny.

Alan Irvine became the second in the firing line late last night. Given West Brom’s stalling form in recent times, perhaps that was fair. They’ve won once in their last nine. Superficially that may therefore have made sense, but in reality, it really doesn’t.

Irvine’s biggest weakness lay in his pedigree, or lack of it. He was previously the head of Everton’s youth academy and before that he led Sheffield Wednesday through an austerity-dampened relegation battle. Either way, unlike Martinez who won the FA Cup with Wigan and led Everton with merit last season, or Bruce and Pearson who commendably navigated their teams out of the Championship, Irvine has no previous success to vindicate his initial appointment. Inevitably, when the club faced adversity, the doubt surrounding him became significantly more emphatic.

The West Brom board should never have appointed him if they were unwilling to stand by him during any period of genuine difficulty. It’s unfair for him to be a victim of his own lack of success. They appointed him fully aware of the ramifications of his lack of experience. For them to bow down to the myopic-mob-like pressures of fickle football fans and sack him for leading West Brom to roughly where you’d expect them to be is entirely illogical.

Granted, Irvine isn’t blameless. West Brom could be doing better. But considering they only just survived last year, sacking him when they’ve largely performed at a similar level is harsh. The club have hardly faltered under his tenure.

The interesting facet regarding West Brom as opposed to other clubs is their unique managerial structure. Irvine isn’t a manager, he’s a Head Coach, exclusively responsible for training his players, devoid of administrative duties. He works in tandem with their technical director, Terry Burton, Director of Administration, Richard Garlick, and Director of Performance, Mark Gilett,  who all collectively have a part to play in this seemingly more bureaucratic process of management. They should all be liable to West Brom’s fall – it’s vastly unfair for Irvine to act as a magnetic point of criticism for all of their shortcomings.

After 19 games Irvine has led West Brom to 17 points, leaving them in 15th. Pepe Mel, a coveted foreign import who was deemed worth taking a risk on, led them to 18 points in the same position. The year before that, Steve Clarke had them at the dizzy heights of seventh with 33 points.

The over-riding question remains – why appoint an unproven manager, in an unorthodox managerial structure, and then dispose of him when he fails to exceed an unrealistic set of expectations? Sacking him will cost additional compensation, and the opportunity costs associated with replacing him could exacerbate their decline further.

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Ask anybody who’s worked with Irvine about his ability to coach – not manage – and you’ll receive favourable response. If he’s only empowered to coach the team, then that’s the only way in which he should be judged.

Irvine hasn’t set the world on fire, but sacking him has undermined the purpose of his appointment. Loyalty and consistency can pay great dividends in football and Irvine deserved longer.

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It has been a fairly mixed season for Sheffield Wednesday so far, yet they find themselves tenth in the Championship just six points of a play-off place. They have been inconsistent and have drawn too many matches but have only lost six times. Six of their ten draws have ended goalless, which sums up their season so far at both ends.

The Owls have the joint worst attack in the league with only 18 goals scored which is the same as lowly Blackpool. But the 21 goals conceded from 24 matches is the second least in the Championship. This reveals how well they have been organised at the back but equally how they really lacking that cutting edge at the other end. Back-to-back 1-0 victories against two of the bottom three tell you everything you need to know about their lack of goalscoring prowess but if they can sort that out then they have every chance of pulling off a late play-off push.

It has been a long time since Wednesday were playing Premier League football, the last time being in 2000. This simply isn’t good enough for a club the size Sheffield Wednesday and with the fan base they possess. In the last decade they have spent a number of years in League One, going back and forth between the two leagues. They have won promotion twice from League One; both in 2005 and 2012. This might only be the club’s third season back in the Championship since promotion, but they really need to start kicking on and achieving a lot more.

Sheffield Wednesday are a big club with a great tradition that have underachieved greatly since the late 1990s. This is proven by the fact they have won four top flight titles, three FA Cups and one League Cup- the last of their silverware which came in 1991. Also, add to that they have spent over 60 seasons in the top flight, then you can get an idea to the size of the club.

Wednesday are not a club that should accept mid-table mediocrity in the second tier, but should be challenging to get back into the top flight. With the way things stand at the moment and with the January transfer window open for business, fans can start to look optimistic for the first time in a long time.

It is easy to see why Wednesday have conceded such few goals with the likes of Joe Mattock, Tom Lees and Glenn Loovens in defence. Loovens was signed in 2013 and has experience in the Champions League with Celtic but also in the La Liga with Zaragoza. He is also the captain and a natural leader in the heart of their defence.

Joe Mattock was once tipped for big things when at Leicester but a move to Premier League West Brom halted his career. Injuries led to limited appearances but at just 24, he is again showing at Wednesday why he was so highly regarded a few years ago. Summer signing from Leeds Tom Lees has also added to the extremely efficient defence.

The man they all play in front of, Kieran Westwood has been the stand out performer so far. The summer signing from Sunderland has put in consistent performances each week, even winning points by himself. He is proving to be the best ‘keeper in the division and a great signing for the club.

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The forward line will need improving if any success is to come out of this season. Striker Stevie May was brought in from St. Johnstone in the summer, and whilst he has impressed at times five league goals from 22 appearances is hardly prolific. Fellow striker Atdhe Nuhiu only has four league goals. With Gary Madine on-loan to Coventry and Chris Maguire also capable of playing in a more attacking role with only three goals to his name, there are little options for goals in Wednesday’s front-line and improvements are needed.

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Essex ended a fascinating day’s play still needing 43 runs to avoid the follow-on with five wickets intact.Warwickshire declared their first innings immediately they had secured their full quota of batting points and were then given a perfect start when Charles Dagnall removed Paul Prichard with the second ball of the Essex reposte without a run on the board.Neither Paul Grayson or Stuart Law survived long and at 63-3 in the 19th over, the home side were in some difficulty.Darren Robinson though emerged to play with commendable application whilst punishing anything wayward. A victim of a broken finger and broken thumb on separate occasions this season, the 27 year-old showed no ill-effects and was only 8 runs short of his first century of the summer when he was caught at backward short leg. He had faced 195 deliveries and struck 14 boundaries and in company with skipper Ronnie Irani, had seen Essex to respectability with a fourth wicket partnership of 116.Stephen Peters scored a single before he gave spinner Neil Smith his second wicket but Irani remained defiant and eased past his half-century guiding his side to their first batting point.Contrasting fortunes for Warwickshire’s Mark Wagh who, less than 24 hours after being awarded his county cap, had to be withdrawn from his side’s bowling attack.The off-spinner had bowled just one over when umpires John Hampshire and Barry Dudleston conferred before calling Warwickshire captain Neil Smith into their discussions. Neither official was apparently satisified with the legality of the bowler’s action and Smith immediately withdrew the bowler from the attack. It is understood that the umpires will be referring the incident to Lord’s and Wagh’s bowling attack with come under scrutiny.Close of play: Warwickshire 400-8 declared
Essex 208-5 from 77 overs – Irani 72*, Foster 7*

A wicket apiece for Australia’s trio of fast bowlers consolidated their position of dominance at the end of the second day of the Melbourne Test. Justin Langer eventually reached a career-best 250 and Steve Waugh 77, while an unbeaten 62 from Martin Love contributed usefully to another awesome total of 551 for six before Waugh’s declaration. By the close England had reached 97 for the loss of Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher.Glenn McGrath made Australia’s first breakthrough when Vaughan, after reaching 11 without apparent difficulty, got a bottom edge onto his stumps as he tried to force a delivery of the back foot.Brett Lee then accounted for Trescothick, and was unfortunate not to dismiss Nasser Hussain as he reached 97 miles per hour in a hostile spell. Trescothick had made 37 and was threatening a major innings when he tried to avoid a short ball which brushed his glove on the way through to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist.Hussain survived a concerted appeal in Lee’s next over when a delivery brushed his shoulder. The England captain also survived trial by television when he drove Stuart MacGill to mid-on, where Jason Gillespie appeared to take a low catch. Hussain was ruled not out when replays were inconclusive. However Gillespie had his own slice of good fortune when he removed Butcher lbw despite an inside edge.Earlier Langer moved past his highest Test innings of 223 against India in Sydney three years ago. He would not have done so if Vaughan had held on to a straightforward catch at short extra cover off Craig White, allowing Langer to move on to 224. Eventually after hitting a six and 30 fours, he was dismissed two overs before the declaration, caught at short third man by Andrew Caddick off the expensive Richard Dawson.England’s first success of the morning was the wicket of Waugh, who had added 15 runs to his overnight total when he edged a lifting White delivery to James Foster. Martin Love was missed on 25 when he drove Mark Butcher to Vaughan at point, who again spilled the catch. Love had added 151 runs for the fifth wicket with Langer when he was finally dismissed. Gilchrist was then bowled heaving at Dawson to trigger the declaration.

Former New Zealand bowler Gavin Larsen has been named a national selector as a replacement for Bruce Edgar, who stood down from the position in May.Larsen will assist New Zealand coach Mike Hesson in picking the Test, ODI, T20I as well as the New Zealand A squads. Larsen’s first task will selecting the squad for the tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa, which will be announced on Thursday.”Gavin will be a real asset,” NZC’s Head of Cricket Lindsay Crocker said. “His breadth of experience – as a player, as a Cricket World Cup administrator and a former chief executive of Cricket Wellington means he’s stayed close and connected to the game.”Larsen, who served as a Cricket Operations Manager for New Zealand during the World Cup, expressed excitement about the new role. “I have the utmost respect and admiration for the way the Blackcaps have moved things forward under Mike’s direction and I’m looking forward to helping that progress continue.”It’s impossible not to be impressed by the consistency and stability of the selection process in recent years, which, I believe, points to excellence in terms of leadership.”Larsen played 121 ODIs and eight Tests between 1990 and 1999.

Match facts

Friday, August 14, 2015
Start time 1800 local (1600GMT)4:45

O’Brien: Big test for Williamson without McCullum around

Big Picture

The wide lens is focused on March next year when the World T20 takes place. Although conditions in South Africa are entirely unlike what teams will be presented with in India, any chance to trial combinations and practice patterns of play will be welcomed, with the limited number of T20 internationals played throughout the year, especially by teams in transition.Both South Africa and New Zealand have begun experimentation in their limited-overs games and both are plunging into the player pool searching for depth while retaining some of the members of their senior core. South Africa have AB de Villiers back in national colours, after he skipped the last two-thirds of their Bangladesh series on paternity leave and Hashim Amla back in the T20 side, but are looking at establishing a new all-rounder in the lower middle-order with David Wiese given the opportunity in this series. New Zealand’s batting has the experience of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, but the rest of their line-up gives way to players who have not held regular places in the past – Colin Munro, James Neesham, Adam Milne – but can stake a claim to do so now.But don’t blame the fans if they are not really focused on all that. For them, this series is the starter in an all-you-can-eat-style bumper season for South Africa, who will embark on their longest tour of India and host England for a full tour, including four Tests. Those marquee series are sandwiched between a sprinkling of shorter-format matches against Antipodean opposition with New Zealand as the entree and Australia the dessert before the World T20 next year. Many things could change by the time that tournament starts but for now, all South African cricket fans care about is that the summer starts now.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)
South Africa WWWLL
New Zealand WLWLL

In the spotlight

South Africans have admired Kagiso Rabada from afar but have only seen him play one international game at home. In January he went wicketless in a T20 against West Indies at Newlands and was on the receiving end of a Chris Gayle avalanche. Rabada’s role in the national team has since become more prominent – he made his ODI debut and was included in the Test squad – and the signs are clear that he is considered the future. Rabada’s raw pace and pinpoint precision are tailormade for South African surfaces and in early-season conditions, he will have the chance to properly announce himself at home.The last time Kane Williamson played limited-overs cricket in South Africa, he struck a career-best 145, and was instrumental in setting up a series win. This time he returns as captain of the team in Brendon McCullum’s absence and will want to combine leadership with building on his good record against South Africa. He has played just four T20s against South Africa, scored 109 runs at 36.33 (higher than his overall average of 28.72), with a top-score of 51.

Team news

Morne van Wyk was recalled to the squad after being dropped for the Bangladesh series – despite scoring a century in his last T20 appearance in January – but could be confined to the bench. Faf du Plessis confirmed AB de Villiers would open the batting and keep wicket in this format and with Hashim Amla back in the squad, there may be no room for van Wyk at the top. Without JP Duminy, who is on paternity leave, Rilee Rossouw should get an opportunity higher up in the order with Farhaan Behardien one of two allrounders in the eleven. Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott will provide a three-pronged pace pack with space for just one spinner; either Eddie Leie or Aaron Phangiso.South Africa: 1 AB de Villiers (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (captain), 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Wiese, 8 Kyle Abbott, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Eddie Leie/Aaron PhangisoNew Zealand are missing several senior players, which has provided an opportunity for George Worker at No.3 in the line-up and could see Grant Elliot bat a position higher than usual. With Nathan McCullum providing a spin option, Ish Sodhi may have to sit out to make room for Doug Bracewell, who has joined the squad for the South Africa leg of their trip.New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 George Worker, 4 Grant Elliot, 5 Luke Ronchi (wk), 6 Colin Munro, 7 James Neesham, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Doug Bracewell, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

Cricket has come before spring this season, which could make for interesting conditions on pitches that are only just shedding their winter coats. Durban should be the least affected venue – winter flits past the city with the casualness of a summer’s day – but is expected to be spicier than usual. A green surface should greet the teams for the first T20 on what is forecast to be a mild day with no rain. Drought-hit Kwa-Zulu Natal has, in the past few seasons, had many matches affected by rain but this time the weather should hold.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have the historical advantage over New Zealand in all formats, particularly T20. They have won nine of the 12 T20s between the two sides while New Zealand have won only three.
• Faf du Plessis is the leading run-scorer in T20s this year. He has played four matches, scored 252 runs at 84.00 with a century and a fifty to his name.
• This is the first time ever South Africa are playing an international match at home in the month of August

Quotes

“I think with the T20s people thought it was just something that since we were playing Bangladesh we should beat them comfortably but looking back at the tour, for us it was quite tough in those conditions and to have beaten them two-nil and quite convincingly, I am very proud.””Whenever you get an opportunity to play for your country, you can push for a permanent spot but that’s not how the culture works in our team. It’s more about looking to contribute to a team performance, a team win and that’s where we want people playing their games.”

Scorecard
Mominul Haque provided the lone resistance for Bangladesh A with a half-century•Raton Gomes/BCB

Bangladesh A’s meek capitulation continued on the final day of their tour as they took only 28.3 overs on the third morning to lose their last eight wickets. They began the day needing 147 to make India A bat again, but never threatened to do so. Only captain Mominul Haque resisted with a stroke-filled half-century, but he too fell in a soft manner, lobbing offspinner Jayant Yadav to extra cover. The visitors ended the tour with one one-day win against India A, but lost everything else: two other one-dayers to India A and a three-day game to Ranji champions Karnataka.On the first two days, Bangladesh batsmen – Sabbir Rahman and Anamul Haque – have insisted this is a flat pitch, a fact that bears testimony in 411 for 5 plundered by India A quite effortlessly, but the Bangladesh batsmen have failed to show the patience and shot selection required at first-class level. Anamul even suggested that the Bangladesh batsmen don’t play much cricket of the longer variety, which is why they were struggling to bat judiciously.On the third morning, in the first exchanges, Mominul and wicketkeeper Liton Das prevailed but did so playing their shots. Varun Aaron’s four-over spell cost India 24 runs, the 50-run stand came up for the third wicket, but it didn’t last too long. Ishwar Pandey came on and dealt the knockout blow in his first over of the day. To the right-hand Das, Pandey bowled from round the wicket and somehow managed to hit the top of off. The batsman had simply failed to cover the line of a shortish ball pitched outside leg. Later in the over Sabbir was given out lbw, but he didn’t look happy with the decision, pointing at his bat while slowly walking off.From the other end Abhimanyu Mithun became the beneficiary of a defensive shot from Nasir Hossain that rolled back on to his off stump. Soon he saw Shuvagata Hom flirt with a wide ball, and give gully a safe catch. Mominul kept playing his shots, some of them quite attractive, but when he went hard at a Jayant offbreak, from around the leg stump, all he managed was a mis-hit to extra cover. After that it was only a matter of time, especially with the injured Rubel Hossain not available to bat.After the game, Mominul rued his team’s approach towards long-form cricket. “Our team… most of the guys are ODI players,” Mominul said. “One-day and Test is a lot different. That is the main problem. We played these as ODI matches. We went chasing the ball too early in the innings.”

A 20-member Sri Lanka women’s squad to tour New Zealand in October-November has been trimmed down to 15, the SLC announced in a release.Eshani Lokusuriyage, Sugandika Kumari, Rose Perera and Kushanthi Liyanage, who were part of the touring party named in September, have failed to make the cut. Oshadi Ranasinghe and Lasanthi Madushani, who had been part of the 20-strong team, have been placed on standby.Sugandhika Dassanayake is one of two new additions. She makes the cut for the final 15, while Achini Kulasuriya is on standby.Shashikala Siriwardene remains the captain, while Chamari Atapattu, who had led the side in their last assignment at home against West Indies, will be her deputy.Sri Lanka play a 50-over tour game against New Zealand A on October 31 in Lincoln, which plays host to the first four ODIs as well. The fifth ODI on November 13 will be in Christchurch, as will the first T20, while Nelson will host the remaining two 20-over matches on November 20 and 22.The first three ODIs contribute to the ICC Women’s championship. New Zealand are ranked sixth out of eight teams, while Sri Lanka are at seventh.Sri Lanka squad: Shashikala Siriwardene (capt), Chamari Atapattu, Prasadini Weerakkody, Dilani Manodara, Inoka Ranaweera, Ama Kanchana, Maduri Samuddhika, Nipuni Hansika, Udeshika Prabodhini, Sripali Weerakkody, Hasini Perera, Anushika Sanjeevani, Nilakshi de Silva, Chamari Polgampola, Sugandhika DassanayakeStandbys: Achini Kulasuriya, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Lasanthi Madhushani