Newcastle need goals at Man City on Wednesday – but who will lead the line?
Alan Shearer
Eddie Howe pulled off a major selection shock on Saturday night when the team news dropped for Newcastle United’s clash against Liverpool. Not even the most insightful pundits could have predicted Anthony Gordon leading the line at Anfield.
There it was, however. Gordon through the middle and a trio of recognised central strikers – Yoane Wissa, Nick Woltemade and William Osula – consigned to the bench.
Osula is only just back from a lengthy injury absence but for Wissa and Woltemade, signed in the summer at a combined £124million, it was a surprise. Woltemade had led the line well against Paris St Germain just a few days earlier while Wissa was the frontman in four of the five games prior to that.
The two big summer signings have struggled for goals in recent games, notching just once between them in 2025 – Wissa’s strike against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Their Premier League goals have dried up considerably.
Gordon’s goal return in the Premier League has been well noted with a run of more than a year without a goal from open play. However, Howe explained the thinking at Anfield as wanting to go with Gordon’s pace, and for 45 minutes it certainly paid off with the Scouser opening the scoring.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s clash at the Etihad Stadium, where Newcastle need goals to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, his teamsheet will make for interesting reading.
Newcastle legend Alan Shearer says the decision to start Gordon ahead of Woltemade and Wissa sums up the problems Newcastle have in attack at the minute.
“I thought the game plan worked really well for about 35 or 40 minutes because we looked dangerous on the counter attack,” he said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“Liverpool, I thought, looked poor defensively as they have done for a while and Newcastle punished them for that ultimately with a very, very good goal from Anthony Gordon, his first in nearly 13 months in open play for Newcastle.
“And then after that, I mean the brilliance of Ekitike and (Florian) Wirtz . . . particularly Ekitike, I mean, it hurts even more because Newcastle were in for him obviously, as you know in the summer but he chose to go to Liverpool, which I get, and that’s fine, but he was the difference.
“I was thinking OK, second half we can go at them again, but they never really got going in the second half, and the best team won. Liverpool were the best team by a mile.
“It sort of sums up where Newcastle are that the manager chooses to leave three forwards basically on the bench. He left Wissa on the bench, left Woltemade on the bench. Osula was on the bench. I don’t know, what’s that £135m-£140m worth of talent?
“And you go into it with a guy who hasn’t scored for nearly 13 months in open play. It sort of tells you where Newcastle are with their forwards at the minute.”
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