Without a doubt, the Alexander Isak situation looms over everything that pertains to Newcastle United right now. We covered that in the detail in the Team News preview article for this match.
On the pitch, Newcastle have not one, but two exhibition games this weekend. Both friendlies are against Spanish opposition.
Newcastle United vs Espanyol FYIs
Competition: Preseason club friendly
Newcastle United Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Kickoff time: Friday Aug 8, 7:30 PM GMT
Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle, UK
Espanyol comes in on Friday night, with Atletico Madrid following the next day. With this mind, we kind of know how manager Eddie Howe is going to approach his team selection.
We’ve seen this here and there in recent years- Newcastle staging preseason friendlies on back to back days.
In these situations, Howe basically makes two entire teams, starts one of them in the first game, flips it over at halftime, and then starts the second team in the next friendly.
It’s not completely, exactly what happens, but that’s the gist of it.
Newcastle United Starting Lineup Prediction vs Espanyol
Aaron Ramsdale; Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall; Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali; Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga
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. 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter