Newcastle manager Eddie Howe gives selection hint for Manchester United Carabao Cup clash

Eddie Howe has suggested he doesn't have the player availability to rotate massively when Newcastle face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Newcastle come to Old Trafford for their last-16 clash against United, in a repeat of last season's final. The Magpies progressed past Manchester City in the previous round, while United beat Crystal Palace.

With Champions League football returning to St. James' Park, fixtures are beginning to pile up for Newcastle and Howe has several injuries to contend with. In just this last week, they have lost Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak and Elliot Anderson.

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“I’d be reluctant to say I’m not looking forward to the game and the game’s not a good one for us,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “We’re in a cup competition and we want to try and progress. I won’t say that.

“I think we’ve got to be very careful with the team selection, we’ve got to try and get that right. We’re very, very thin on the ground in certain areas. This is what we want on a regular basis, this is the pinnacle. We’re not moaning about it [the schedule].

“I think the only disappointment for me is we have injuries to attacking players and it’s limited my options to change in running or freshen the players up who are maybe fatigued. But every player wants to play football and a lot of lads will get a lot of football in the next few weeks.”

Newcastle will also be without long-term absentees Sven Botman and Harvey Barnes for the cup tie, while Sandro Tonali will also be unavailable after receiving a 10-month ban for admitting to breaching the Italian Football Federation's betting rules.

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