Newcastle United

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

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Newcastle fans must feel like they are dreaming right now.

First, they end their 70-year wait for domestic silverware after beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final and now they have secured their third Premier League win on the spin as they move above Manchester City in the table and into fifth place.

With winnable home games coming up against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, Newcastle may feel they are in pole position for a top four finish after moving level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea despite having played a game less.

In a game they were massively expected to win, Newcastle did not take their eye off the ball for one moment in an aggressive attacking first half display.

The midfield trio of Bruno Guimareas, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton dominated from the first whistle and proved key in Newcastle securing the three points after just 34 minutes.

With Alexander Isak having a quiet night in front of goal and the influence of the injured Anthony Gordon missing through injury, other players in the Magpies stepped up as they earned another vital three points in their push for Europe's elite competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester's performance

What did you make of Newcastle's display?

Come back to this page on Tuesday to find a selection of your replies

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Former Newcastle United player Neil McDonald believes "experienced" Callum Wilson should start against Leicester City, after Eddie Howe confirmed mainstay Alexander Isak was forced off with a "groin issue" in the 2-1 win over Brentford.

Isak scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season against the Bees, before being substituted in the 66th minute for fellow goalscorer Wilson.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, McDonald said: "I think this would be the perfect game to rest Alexander Isak and make sure that he is ready for the rest of the season.

"I think you would go for Callum Wilson instead - I think you need that little bit of experience. He knows where the goals are and he is playing in a team that is creating chances, so he will probably score goals. He knows where to be and what to do in the final third.

"You would probably have to replace Isak with Wilson to keep that experience up top when the chances do come along.

"Nine times out of 10, Wilson is probably going to put it in the back of the net."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Leicester should have been relegated immediately for what they did at Etihad Stadium last Wednesday.

For a team who are desperate for a win, they showed absolutely zero attacking intent even when they went two goals down.

All they were interested in was building a wall and just stopping Manchester City. I felt sorry for their travelling fans because the team offered no threat whatsoever, and didn't even try to score.

I can understand that everyone has a gameplan, but usually that changes when you go a goal or two behind. At 2-0, however, Leicester took their star striker Jamie Vardy off to put another midfielder on.

That tells you where Leicester are at right now - it felt like they were waving the white flag and going for damage limitation, rather than thinking they might as well give it a go and risk conceding more goals.

We know how nervy Manchester City have been this season, and Leicester caused them problems when they had a go at them at King Power Stadium at the end of last year.

This time, there was none of that. They were pretty pathetic and you have got to question what their manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was thinking.

His team have lost their past seven league games and have not scored in any of them, and it is even longer since they managed a point or a league goal at home.

That is not going to change here. Newcastle got an important win over Brentford in midweek to show there was no hangover from their Carabao Cup celebrations.

Even if they hit the hotel mini-bar again on Sunday night, it wouldn't matter - they would still beat Leicester.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is a big fan of Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and is considering meeting a £25m clause to sign the 26-year-old England international. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Newcastle have made direct contact with the agent of Fiorentina striker Moise Kean about a summer move, with the 25-year-old Italy striker also interesting Arsenal, Tottenham, AC Milan, Napoli and Barcelona. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Eddie Howe is also a big fan of Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and is considering meeting a £25m clause to sign the 26-year-old England international. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Newcastle are not in a bad spot at the moment to qualify for the Champions League and they have the key thing: momentum.

The city is buzzing still after the Carabao Cup win, and the players are too.

Questions were raised about how they would play against Brentford following the weekend's celebrations, but they came out with the three points.

They will be looking at their remaining fixtures against teams in and around them and know what they have to do to hold their position and secure a return to the Champions League.

If I cast my mind back to the first half of this season and I was questioning Newcastle - and so were many others - but it has ended up being a not so bad season!

They started with a few injuries at the back, but once they found the stability they have been used to seeing and that has brought them success in the past, they have been very good and hard to beat.

This has obviously been helped by players finding their form at the right time and Alexander Isak's ability to change games.

The surprise package has been Jacob Murphy, as no-one would have thought he would go on such a run of games and provide as many assists as he has to Isak. There was outside noise at the beginning of the season that Murphy isn't good enough to be at the club, but he has certainly changed a few people's mindsets now.

From nowhere, or maybe just stability in personnel, Newcastle have found their belief and to every man in the cup final they were brilliant.

If they can put the same fight into the final part of the season, then there is no reason they can't finish in the top five.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Eddie Howe says Sean Longstaff's future is "unclear" but backed the 26 year old to play his part in Newcastle's end of the season.

The Magpies academy product has a year left to run on his contract but has fallen out of favour as a result of the form of Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.

"His role is to be ready to play, be ready to come on, and I've trusted him in big games where he has come on and played his part," said Howe.

"His long-term future is slightly more unclear but behind the scenes Sean has been really really good."

Listen to more from Howe on the Total Sport Newcastle United podcast feed on BBC Sounds

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Newcastle midfielder Harvey Barnes needs to make it "impossible" for boss Eddie Howe to take him out of the team.

The 27-year-old has made 31 appearances for the Magpies this season, but has started fewer than half of those.

Anthony Gordon's impressive form on the left wing has meant Barnes has had to wait for his opportunity to make an impact from the start.

But with Gordon struggling with injury, the former Leicester player has been deputising in his place on the left and provided two assists in his past two Premier League games.

"Harvey has been chomping at the bit to play. He's been desperate to showcase what he can do," Howe said.

"He brings unique things to the team. He's definitely a goal threat. I think he had seven shots against Brentford off both sides of the pitch. I trust him a lot. I think he's got a lot of great attributes that we want in the team.

"I've been really happy with how he's come into the team and built relationships with the likes of Joelinton and Tino Livramento. They've been a consistent threat down that left-hand side so I'm delighted with that side of the pitch."

With crucial games coming up as Newcastle try to secure Champions League football, the question now is whether Barnes can keep his place in the starting XI when Gordon returns.

"That's the message to any player when you get your opportunity," Howe added.

"You've got to try to grab it and make it impossible for me to take you out. That's the challenge for Harvey."

Listen to more of Howe speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle's Matthew Raisbeck on BBC Sounds

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game at Leicester (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Newcastle do not have any "big injuries" from Wednesday's win over Brentford, but do have "some niggles" to players like Kieran Trippier, Alexander Isak and Joelinton that they will have to "wait and see" on.

• Howe also confirmed they are "monitoring" Anthony Gordon after a bad knock he picked up with England because he is "still not pain free".

• The Magpies boss is "really pleased" Fabian Schar has extended his contract and added: "[Fans will] remember him as the unique player he is. Not orthodox, like the goal against Liverpool where he had no right to score that. He has moments where you just go 'wow'. His defensive side has definitely improved and, as a defender, you are always judged against that first."

• Asked if statistics show it is a myth that Isak is injury prone, Howe responded: "Look at my record - I was very injury prone. Alex certainly isn't." He added: "He is very professional. He has a physio he uses in conjunction with the football club that will fly in and out. We back that and have a good relationship with that. It is about building relationships and trust so he knows we are doing right work for him and his body too."

• On the role of Sean Longstaff: "To be ready, to play and to come on. He has already payed his part. We need the whole squad to help. There are nine massive games to come and everyone needs to be ready to play. I'm not sure on his future, but all I can say is, behind the scenes, he has been very, very good. Training really well with the group and I can't speak highly enough of him as a person."

• On facing relegation-threatened Leicester: "They are not out of it. They will still believe they have chance. They have been very competitive, but results might not show it... They have good players. [Jamie] Vardy is still a massive threat. Ruud [van Nistelrooy] has got them playing good football, so we will have to be on our guard still."

• Howe believes they are in a "better position" in terms of profit and sustainability rules going into the summer and on the impact European football can have, he added: "Europe will play a part but I don't know how yet as there is still lots of football to be played. We will be in stronger position, depending which competition we are in. With the current players, we know what we want to achieve and focus is on that at the moment."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Defender Fabian Schar has extended his contract at Newcastle until the end of next season.

The centre-back has made more than 200 appearances since arriving in the summer of 2018.

Schar told the club's official website: "I'm buzzing to extend my stay here. It's been a very good few weeks for everybody at Newcastle United after winning the Carabao Cup and I'm really happy now to sign another contract with this amazing club.

"It's my seventh season here and everybody knows how happy I am at the club and how comfortable I feel in the city, so I'm really glad to be continuing that.

"Now it's about looking forward and finishing the season as strong as possible."

Magpies boss Eddie Howe said: "Fabian has been outstanding in my time at the club. As well as his performances on the pitch, he has shown a fantastic attitude in the group.

"He has been the heartbeat of the club's season so far, and he'll continue to be a key player for us as we strive to finish as high in the table as possible."

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Everybody is talking about Sandro Tonali after his performance against Brentford last night.

Here is some more of what the boss had to say about his midfielder.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle's Matthew Raisbeck, Eddie Howe said: "Very good again. Very good. Just a lot of good decisions from Sandro and I think that's what makes him the player that he is.

"I think you're always getting 'well done' and they're not necessarily outstanding moments but when you add them together, it just turns into a very forceable performance from midfield.

"He's very good athletically and he helped a number of times in putting out fires on transitions. It was a very good individual performance."

On Tonali's comments that his goal was "70% a cross", Howe told BBC Radio 5 Live: "You'll have to talk me through the percentages - 70 per cent, 30 per cent. I don't really understand that. Maybe he can talk me through it.

"I think he, as we all know, he has got an unbelievable strike on him when he hits the ball and connects and he did in that moment. We were just delighted to see it go in."

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We asked for your views on Newcastle's win over Brentford on Wednesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Newcastle fans

Matt: Did Sandro Tonali really mean that strike? The late movement of his foot suggests he did - but that's my heart ruling my head, maybe! On track for Europe again and perhaps a big win against Manchester United.

Paul: Great win but we made hard work of it with either sloppy finishing or great last-ditch defending by Brentford. Alexander Isak wasn't at his best, taking time to pull the trigger but we could have easily been three goals up at half-time.

Duncan: Any signs of a hangover from the cup success were soon dispelled. A good start from the whistle, with lots of pressure on the Brentford 18-yard box. A good all-round performance marred by Nick Pope's poor decision-making again. Tonali finished it with a wonder strike to secure the points and continue the push for Champions League football next season. Did he mean it? Absolutely! He has been going for long-range efforts like that all season. Our strongest player all season.

Robbo: Difficult game and could have easily been a draw. Pleased with a win after such a historic few weeks. Good luck to the Bees for the rest of the season. Thought Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento were brilliant. Did Tonali mean to score? Of course he did.

Brentford fans

Brahams: Very unlucky not to get a point and on another day all three! A strong performance full of passion. While Mikkel Damsgaard is a super sub to have, I just think we are missing (through injuries etc) a few game-changing players that we have in our squad. But that's not to take away anything from the performance away at a strong team who were on a high from their trophy win. I think the sky is the limit when Brentford have the full force of their squad playing week in week out.

Tom: We played well. It was a game that should get attention for another referee and VAR mistake though, as a stonewall penalty against Damsgaard, after which a free kick was given for a "foul" by Keane Lewis-Potter on Tonali and a yellow card, from which Newcastle went and Tonali scored the freak goal. This has happened time and again in recent matches for us. We're not the kind of club to moan about it and we have the classiest manager in the Premier League, but he needs to start now as it is getting ridiculous.

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Former Newcastle defender John Anderson says Sandro Tonali put in a "complete midfield performance" in their 2-1 win over Brentford.

Anderson told BBC Newcastle's Total Sport: "He was brilliant. He was everywhere. He did everything. It was just a complete midfield performance. He passed it well, he tackled, he chased back and he was strong on the ball.

"It was always going to be a difficult game, Brentford had won their past five away. They weren't going to come here and lie down.

"I thought we were the better side in the first half and to score right on half-time was a big bonus for us but full credit to Brentford - they came out and had a right go in the second half.

"I don't think anyone can complain about the penalty, dispatched well. Up to that point, they were the better side and you were starting to get a bit worried at that stage.

"But goals change games and that's exactly what Tonali's strike did."

Listen to the post-match reaction in full

Highlights and analysis from nine midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

• Liverpool 1-0 Everton

• Newcastle 2-1 Brentford

Newcastle will renew their interest in Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, 24, in the summer. (GiveMeSport), external

The Magpies are also showing interest in Como's 19-year-old Senegal winger Assane Diao, who has caught the eye of Manchester United and Liverpool. (Caught Offside), external

Finally, Juventus want to sign Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, with the Serie A side valuing the 24-year-old at about £70m. (Gazzetta - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It wasn't pretty. I don't think we played as well as we did against Liverpool.

"Tonali has a thunderbolt of a strike when he does go for goal. I am mightily relieved to see it hit the net.

"Always after the international break the games are different. We had players in different physical moments and we looked to have picked up a few minor injuries but hopefully nothing to keep anyone out of the next game.

"We are relieved to come through with the three points."