"Careless" £58k-p/w flop axed, "unpredictable" £38k-p/w ace starts: NUFC predicted XI - opinion

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side head into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brentford in a rather remarkable run of form, with the Magpies remaining undefeated in their last six outings – three of which have come as wins.

These impressive results have seen the 44-year-old’s outfit climb out of the relegation zone, two points above Burnley in 18th place, and just two points behind today’s opponents in 14th.

As such, a win over Brentford would come as a major boost to Newcastle’s hopes of survival this season, meaning that Howe simply must get his team selection spot on against Thomas Franks’ side at the Brentford Community Stadium.

So, will the Englishman make any changes to the team that started the 1-1 draw with West Ham United last time out? Here’s how we think Newcastle could line up against the Bees, as well as the latest team and injury news…

With Howe recently revealing that he will make a late call on whether or not Allan Saint-Maximin will play a part against Brentford, as well as suggesting that both Ryan Fraser and Javier Manquillo could feature after recovering from their respective injuries, we predict the 44-year-old will make three change to the side that lined up at the London Stadium last week.

The first of these changes comes in the Magpies’ back four, with the aforementioned Manquillo returning to the XI at right-back, while the £58k-per-week Emil Krafth – who BBC Sport’s Neil Johnston dubbed “careless” after his performance against the Hammers – drops out of the side.

In the middle of the park, the born-again Joelinton and Jonjo Shelvey retain their spots as part of Howe’s three-man midfield, while the £34m-rated Bruno Guimaraes – whose former teammate, Houssem Aouar, claimed “constantly offers