The Newcastle United EFL Cup title defense is now over. The Geordies were ousted by Manchester City last night, in the semifinal round, and that means we will now officially have a new champion in this competition. The insult of defeat came with injury too, as we know have a few more fitness concerns to go over in the likes of Anthony Gordon, Lewis Miley and Bruno Guimaraes.
Let’s start with Anthony Gordon, who has gotten injured yet again. He left the defeat at Man City early, due to a hamstring injury.
Newcastle United vs Brentford FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Feb 7, 5:30pm, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Google’s Result Probability: Newcastle win 46% Draw 27% Brentford FC win 27%
Premier League standings: Newcastle 11th 33 pts, Brentford FC 7th, 36 pts
Newcastle United Team News
“We hope he’s going to be okay,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said yesterday. “Obviously, it’s a hamstring problem and it was enough for him to come off. I don’t know the extent of it.”
So with Gordon, the return timeline is indefinite right now. With Miley (knee) and Guimaraes (ankle), the news is much better. Ahead of the cup clash with City, in ruling Guimaraes out of it, Howe did say: “there is a chance for the weekend.”
So he is basically a 50/50 proposition for Saturday, as is Miley.
And then finally, you have the four longer-term injury absentees:
Emil Krafth, Valentino Livramento, Fabian Schar and Joelinton. No members of this quartet will feature here on the weekend.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.