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<\/p>\nNewcastle United secured their first Premier League clean sheet in 13 matches as Crystal Palace\u2019s winless run extended to five.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we saw in and learned from Sunday\u2019s match at St James\u2019 Park.<\/p>\n
BRUNO HAULS AGAIN<\/p>\n
Back-to-back goals for Bruno Guimaraes (\u00a37.1m) means the Brazilian has now got more double-digit hauls (DD, below) to his name than any other Fantasy midfielder this season.<\/p>\n
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Very much in the Declan Rice (\u00a37.2m) bracket of \u2018how long can this go on?\u2019, Guimaraes continues to make light of the underlying numbers and even positioning.<\/p>\n
Eddie Howe moved him to a \u2018six\u2019 role midway through Saturday\u2019s match, yet still Guimaraes popped up with a goal \u2013 albeit from a set play. That was his seventh strike of the season.<\/p>\n
No midfielder, you\u2019ll probably be unsurprised to hear, has exceeded their xG more this season (below). Then again, he\u2019s done better than Opta has \u2018expected\u2019 in all of his seasons since joining Newcastle! An above-average finisher, that would suggest.<\/p>\n
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One advantage that Bruno has over peers like Anthony Gordon (\u00a37.4m) is expected minutes. Eddie Howe is not completely averse to resting the Brazilian; he has benched him twice in the league this season.<\/p>\n
But when he does start, he generally lasts the course. He\u2019s finished the game in 15 of his 18 starts, lasting 85+ minutes on the other three occasions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose it\u2019s a subconscious thing. It\u2019s not necessarily a conscious thing to say I\u2019m never going to take Bruno, to take any player off the pitch, if I feel it benefits the team. It\u2019s not about sort of the individual person, it\u2019s about what they\u2019re giving the team and it\u2019s a subconscious thing that he I feel he\u2019s contributing in whatever way that I figure that\u2019s important in that moment. He\u2019s just got that big character and that dependability that I don\u2019t really want to lose from the team when he\u2019s playing well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd today, in that type of game, I want him to have more influence. So, that\u2019s why I ended up moving him deeper because I wanted to get him on the ball more. I wanted to have more influence on the game and I felt with the substitutions that we made, I think the team improved and we gained more control with him in that position ultimately. Then he scores the goal from a set piece, but I think he\u2019s been brilliant in recent weeks.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes<\/p>\n
PRAISE \u2013 BUT ALSO CAUTION \u2013 FOR \u00a34.5M MIDFIELDER MILEY<\/p>\n
Lewis Miley (\u00a34.5m) teed up Bruno for that decisive goal. This was his fifth successive Premier League start, the last four of them coming at right-back.<\/p>\n
The budget FPL midfielder was outstanding again. It begs the question: will he keep starting in this Newcastle United side, despite the squad being mostly healthy again?<\/p>\n
Howe called his performance \u201cunbelievable\u201d \u2013 but did sound a bit more cautionary about upcoming minutes when asked after full-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know if anyone\u2019s undroppable. I think it\u2019s got to be every game, I\u2019ll try and make an independent decision on what I think what\u2019s best for the team in that game. We\u2019ve got to remember Lewis\u2019s age, where we have to manage his body. He\u2019s had a few injuries before where he\u2019s played a lot of games in quick succession. So, who knows what the future looks like for him. But I think what he\u2019s done is he\u2019s shown he can play that role, which is a great thing for him in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got players coming back from injury that can add a lot in that position as well. So, as I say, I\u2019ll just make a decision based on the next game and who knows what that will be.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on if Lewis Miley is undroppable on current form<\/p>\n
TRIPPIER, BOTMAN + LIVRAMENTO RETURN FROM INJURY<\/p>\n
Another reason for the Miley caution is the return of two orthodox right-back options, Kieran Trippier (\u00a34.9m) and Tino Livramento (\u00a34.9m).<\/p>\n
Both were among the substitutes on Sunday, with the versatile Livramento replacing Lewis Hall (\u00a35.3m) at left-back for the final half an hour.<\/p>\n
Sven Botman (\u00a34.9m) was also back on the bench after a month or so out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve had one or two days of training, very minimal time back on the training pitch. We\u2019ve got to be careful with them and manage them correctly.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on his returning defenders<\/p>\n
Expect Hall\u2019s minutes to be more managed going forward, reinforcing Malick Thiaw (\u00a35.1m) as the most rotation-proof route into Newcastle\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n
Thiaw bagged a 17-pointer here, nodding in the Magpies\u2019 second goal and claiming DefCon points for the seventh occasion. He\u2019s among the top five defenders for big chances (five) this season and top 10 for shots in the box (13).<\/p>\n
GORDON AT RISK IN GAMEWEEK 21?<\/p>\n
Anthony Gordon (\u00a37.4m) started his sixth league match in a row, meanwhile, and his third of this busy post-Christmas period.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s looked lively in recent weeks, this one seemed to be a start too far. A tired-looking display ended after just 62 minutes, with Harvey Barnes (\u00a36.1m) coming on.<\/p>\n
Barnes had a game-high three shots, including one breakaway effort that Dean Henderson (\u00a35.1m) brilliantly saved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to get Harvey\u2019s goalscoring instinct onto the pitch and I thought he did really well, Harvey, when he came on. I think he made a big difference.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Harvey Barnes<\/p>\n
Gordon\u2019s minutes look a bit iffy for Wednesday, then, but the saving grace could be the fitness of Newcastle\u2019s two other wingers.<\/p>\n
Anthony Elanga (\u00a36.5m) again missed out, while Jacob Murphy (\u00a36.0m) hobbled off late on.<\/p>\n
\u201cJacob was just feeling a bit of awareness in his hamstrings.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe<\/p>\n
MORE SET-PIECE GOAL CONCESSIONS FROM PALACE<\/p>\n
Move over Bournemouth and West Ham United, there\u2019s a new team with an Achilles heel at set plays in town.<\/p>\n
Crystal Palace are now bottom for set-piece goals conceded in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been a glut of them in recent weeks, with seven flying in from mid-December.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost disappointment for me is conceding another two goals from set plays. Five of our last six defeats, we just conceded goals from set plays. It was at Strasburg, Man United, Leeds, Tottenham and today. And then you can\u2019t win games. And this is what we have to get sorted.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n
Oliver Glasner cited the absence of physical presences like Chris Richards (\u00a34.4m), Daniel Munoz (\u00a35.8m) and Ismaila Sarr (\u00a36.4m) as a mitigating factor. Another one, Jefferson Lerma (\u00a34.9m), came off early on Sunday before Newcastle scored twice.<\/p>\n
Aston Villa will be the next club to try and exploit that weakness. The Villans haven\u2019t really got a Gabriel Magalhaes (\u00a36.6m) type, however, with no one registering more than three headed set-piece efforts \u2013 a total that Ezri Konsa (\u00a34.4m) and some-time corner taker Youri Tielemans (\u00a35.9m) share \u2013 all season.<\/p>\n
JOHNSON DEBUT + PALACE INJURY LATEST<\/p>\n
Brennan Johnson (\u00a36.5m) made his Palace debut, lining up as the right-sided \u201910\u2019 as expected. It\u2019ll be interesting to see how Glasner accommodates him and Sarr when the latter returns from the Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s far too early to gauge Johnson\u2019s potential impact but he did look like a good fit, often the most advanced of the front three and looking to get behind the Newcastle defence.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe showed what he will bring us, what he will bring to the team with his runs. Of course, I could see in a few situations, the understanding with his teammates was not here \u2013 but how after one day of training [is that possible]?\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on Brennan Johnson<\/p>\n
There won\u2019t be much threat to his place in Gameweek 21. Glasner said he wasn\u2019t expecting anyone back for the Villa game, with Lerma (concussion) and Nathaniel Clyne (\u00a33.8m, groin\/hip) potentially added to a lengthy injury list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that a few players will come back in the next 2-4 weeks, especially Danny Munoz and Ismaila Sarr. Chris Richards as well. This will help us, yes we know, but now it\u2019s in three days, nobody will come back. I think Jeff Lerma is out because it was a concussion substitution and let\u2019s assess Clyne.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n
A Palace side running on fumes actually did well to compete with Newcastle for most of Sunday\u2019s game. Had Will Hughes\u2018 (\u00a34.7m) poked effort in first-half injury gone in, we might have had a different outcome. That was the Eagles\u2019 only \u2018big chance\u2019 of the match, however.<\/p>\n
![\"Introducing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Eye-Test-Draft-2-1-1024x1024.jpg\")
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