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A 3-0 humiliation at home against Watford has left Newcastle United with four consecutive losses in the Premier League which has pushed them to 14th in the table. The Magpies, who made a bright start to the season by racking up 14 points in first nine games have been hit hard by injuries to their crucial players including their skipper Jamaal Lascelles.
Their poor defensive displays in the last two games has clearly highlighted the impact Lascelles has on the field and the way he organizes his defensive line. The 3-0 defeat has to be considered as a lenient scoreline for Newcastle, as Watford missed a couple of easy chances which could have seen them add at least two more.
With a series of tough fixtures piled up next month, the next game against West Brom is going to be crucial for Rafa Benitez's side and these improvements are certainly essential to come away with a decisive victory on Tuesday night.
#5 Bring in Mitrovic
It may not make sense when a single supporter wants Mitrovic to start, but when the majority of Newcastle supporters want him to be in the starting line-up, Rafa Benitez must seriously consider starting him in the next game.
Joselu's selection in the starting line-up ahead of Mitrovic has been questioned by the fans for some time now, and the recent Watford game certainly proved that fans were right in their opinion.
Joselu, who was signed from Stoke City in the summer window for £5 million, has struggled to perform and has been a constant flop in front of goal. The Spaniard has managed to score only two goals in his twelve Premier League appearances this season and has missed several big chances cheaply.
With Newcastle United producing very little bright chances upfront, Joselu's misses are proving to be costly for Rafa Benitez's side.
On the other hand, Aleksander Mitrovic's contribution in the last 20 minutes after he came in as a sub was more than what Joselu contributed in the whole game. Despite missing one good chance, the Serbian was quite confident with the ball and he linked a lot better with his teammates, than Joselu.
While Mitrovic certainly cannot be a permanent solution for Newcastle's goal-scoring woes, he can surely replace Joselu in the starting line-up at least until the transfer window, where Benitez aims to bring in a new striker.
#4 Covering the large space on the right side of defence
One of the easily identified mistakes in last game was leaving ample of space on the right side of the defence. Watford exploited this space several times, and quite incredibly, all three of Watford's goals came from the right side.
Richarlison and Marvin Zeegelaar made several runs down this flank and were never closed down by any of the Newcastle players.
While DeAndre Yedlin was given a green signal to push forward and join the attack, other Newcastle players failed to hold back and cover the large area that was left behind. Matt Ritchie tried to cover this area but was ineffective most of the times.
During the first goal, Ritchie was seen raising his hand for an offside appeal without waiting for the whistle, attempting to get close to the ball. This gave Zeegelaar a good amount of time and space to pick out his man in the box which resulted in a goal.
While the second goal was quite an unfortunate own goal, the third also came from the same side, as Richarlison was released freely down the flank, and subsequently supplied an excellent cross into the box for Gray to slot it home.
While Yedlin's contribution in attack could improve the chances upfront, it is very important that the opposition doesn't hit back in a counter down the wing.
#3 Replacing Javier Manquillo at the back
The Spanish right-back has been a regular starter for Newcastle, following an injury to Paul Dummett in the opening clash of the season. However, he has failed to impress and has continued to struggle in every game this season.
Manquillo has looked shaky at the back and has been poor with his clearances very often. The Spaniard tried to show his ability in the wings against Watford but failed miserably when he moved forward.
The full-back tried to supply few quality crosses from the left side but all those attempts went unsuccessful. The crosses never seemed to trouble Watford's defence as they cleared the attempted crosses with ease.
With Paul Dummett closing in on a return, Manquillo's place in the line-up seems to be uncertain. While Dummett will possibly be fit to start against Chelsea this weekend, Rafa Benitez might consider playing Chancel Mbemba at left-back against West Brom.
Though Mbemba naturally plays as a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back and provide defensive stability at the back, while contributing to the attacks when necessary.
#2 Find an alternative to Jonjo Shelvey's predictable diagonal balls
Jonjo Shelvey, who had been producing a few top-notch passes this season, had a night to forget against Watford as he failed to make any major contributions in the game.
The English midfielder lost his cool and attempted a miserable tackle in the opening minutes of the game which resulted in an early yellow card for the skipper.
Adding to this, he failed to supply any valuable passes upfront as every attempt resulted in a loss of possession. It seems that Shelvey's play is becoming very much predictable as the opposition dealt with his diagonal balls very well, making it ineffective.
With Shelvey's long balls becoming predictable, Rafa Benitez must consider an additional route for carrying over the attack instead of completely relying on these diagonal balls.
One of the possible solutions can be involving Jacob Murphy, who was, by far, the best Newcastle player on the pitch against Watford. He looked lively down the left wing and provided a couple of good crosses into the box showing his capability.
#1 Clark-Lejuene pair must step up in the absence of Lascelles
As Jamaal Lascelles continues to be on the sidelines, it is high time for Ciaran Clark and Florian Lejeune to step up and organize the defence against West Bromwich Albion.
With their skipper at the back, Newcastle conceded just 10 goals in 11 games, establishing themselves as one of the best defensive units in the league. However, following Lascelles' injury, the Magpies have conceded seven goals in the last two games, showing the impact their leader had on the pitch.
The defensive pair of Clark and Lejuene continued to struggle for a second consecutive game, as poor organization at the back was quite evidently seen during the game.
During the second goal, Clark failed to mark Gray, and instead, was seen standing several steps away from him.
During the 82nd minute of the game, Watford exploited the poor organization of Newcastle's defence yet again.
Clearly, the defensive duo needs to step up their game and take early control, if the Magpies intend to return unscathed from the Hawthorns later tonight.
While the aforementioned points could be quite harsh on the players, I wish that every player considers the next game as a crucial one and puts in their best performance, validating their place in the starting line-up.
