Flying Kiwis.
"Chris Wood was left out of the team for the weekend’s match with Norwich. Not dropped, to be clear. He was one of four changes from the Palace match with in-form regulars Fabian Schär and Jonjo Shelvey amongst them. Miguel Almiron was also rotated despite his goal in the previous match. Just one of those ones where the fixture congestion has been real rough and with their relegation worries deep in the rear-view mirror Eddie Howe can afford to rest a few blokes here and there.
Eddie Howe on the changes:
“Three games in six days. Norwich had a free week so we couldn’t come here lethargic, tired or mentally fatigued after the week we had - two tough home games where we had long spells without the ball. We needed fresh bodies, one or two players had a few niggles as well so we didn’t want to risk them. I was really pleased with the guys that came in. I thought they did refresh the team and thought we looked very good physically today for certain points in the game. Also, I think it’s healthy for the group to do that as well, it shows we do have a capable squad and that I’ve got options to choose from, plus competition for places as well which is absolutely vital.”
Makes sense. Only drama is that this was a great chance for Chris Wood to add to his goal tally and give himself a little more hope of reaching that 10-goal mark for the season. He’s on five goals with four matches left so probably not gonna happen, especially not with Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Burnley to face in those four games. Might need to score them all against the Clarets which may be awkward.
Newcastle beat Norwich 3-0 with Joelinton scoring a double (35’ & 41’) and Bruno Guimaraes adding another (49’) as the semi-rotated Magpies saw off the relegation-looming Canaries with relative comfort. Amazingly, considering where they were a few months ago, that win lifts Newcastle into the top half of the table.
Up Next: Newcastle vs Liverpool, Saturday at 11.30pm (NZT)"
