Eddie Howe verdict on Newcastle midfield battle with some facing disappointment at Tottenham

Eddie Howe has given his view on the Newcastle United midfield battle ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur's state of the art stadium this weekend.

There's no doubt that Howe now has a squad all vying for a place to play on one of the most impressive stages in world football this weekend in North London. But somebody will miss out and Howe knows it will be a tough decision.

Should the United head coach go for a 4-3-3 formation then at least one big-name will be on the bench with Joelinton, Bruno, Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock all battling for spots.

Speaking about the competition for a slot in his engine room, Howe said: "That midfield area has been the key area for us I think – it's been one of the strengths of the team, without a doubt.

"I think we've had a really good mix in there of technical quality, physical attributes, and defensively I think they've been very, very good. It's a nice problem for me to have. I've got to try and pick three out of those five if everyone's fit and we decide to play with three."

Howe's team acquitted themselves well in their last trip to London, only losing narrowly and controversially to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And it was another low scoring defeat at Everton.

Howe reflected: "I think the two games we had have been very different but the same outcome – narrow 1-0 defeats very late in the game. It's been a difficult one to take – both games have been very difficult to take, because we felt we had given a lot. In the Chelsea game, defensively we were excellent, and it was a very frustrating feeling.

"In the Everton game, in the first half we were excellent, in the second half I think we fell away from those high levels. Now we need to regroup and go again in what