Newcastle United v Burnley Team News

Match Preview

Newcastle will be looking to bounce back from two straight defeats when they welcome improving Burnley to St James' Park on Saturday afternoon.

Defeats to nil at both Arsenal and Crystal Palace have seen the Magpies drop to 14th and while they enjoy a seven-point cushion above the relegation places, they are in danger of being dragged into the battle to beat the drop.

Burnley, meanwhile, have allayed their own demotion fears with a draw against Arsenal and victories against Southampton and Bournemouth meaning they can now look up rather than down.

Steve Bruce has admitted that Newcastle “haven’t created enough” and face a “big week” with West Brom to come in the FA Cup on Tuesday before a trip to Southampton.

Newcastle need to start scoring, having failed to score in eight of their 12 defeats this term.

Andy Carroll is again set to sit it out on Saturday, while defender Ciaran Clark may require surgery on an ankle injury after damaging ligaments with the centre-back set to miss the rest of the season.

However, Jonjo Shelvey is back in contention, while Javier Manquillo is also available.

Despite their recent improvement, Sean Dyche has insisted that his team still have work to do and should be able to call upon striker Chris Wood on Tyneside.

Wood was absent against the Cherries but scored the only goal in the reverse fixture between the teams just before Christmas.

Either Matej Vydra, who has lost just two of the 10 career Premier League games he has started, or Jay Rodriguez could get the nod in attack alongside the Kiwi, with Ashley Barnes still out due to a hernia issue.

Matt Lowton is unlikely to feature due to a knee problem, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson is a doubt due to a minor knock.

As seen in their match earlier in the campaign, these two usually play out tight affairs, with six of their last eight featuring under 2.5 goals.

Sean Dyche Steve Bruce

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