So far we are still clear. My daughter works at MOD and is partly responsible for Covid protocols for the military so has all the up to date info. As of 4 hours we are still OK to travel.
Lewis hasn't played since February, so there could be a bit of rustiness, though he has played in some games for Northern Ireland since then, including one sending off for two yellow cards.
So cold. Interestingly I thought our Scots and Finns and Brits coped with the weather notably well - versus Wolves' Portuguese... Could be a factor
Agree with Rob. MetOffice says not that cold at 9°, but could be wet and windy. Our likely line-up should be up to that with ex Newcastle Krul, 3 Scots, Pukki (you call that cold?), Mancunian Williams, liverpudlian Dowell, Gibson and Rupp.
WhoScored's probable lineups: That looks about right, except that Smith may want Sargent's pressing skills to counter St Maximin. For form, Newcastle has taken 3 points from the last 5 games whereas we've taken 7.
Those stats make it clear how important Saint Maximin is to Newcastle. I seem to remember him bossing the pre-season friendly against us, too.
I don’t like the sound of a Dubravka in form, it’s typical for us to make a goalkeeper look world class. Let’s hope Sargent finds his shooting boots, he really deserves a goal for his efforts. Same for Rashica.
There was no stream for the pre season against Newcastle but I thought the humping we received was a bit ominous. Under Farke against a side without a win this would be an along came Norj nailed on but we seem to have turned a corner under Smith.
I think it is also worth mentioning that the game was at the end of the covid disruption and players were only just returning, we hadn’t played a game in two weeks