Eddie Howe’s pick for Newcastle United ahead of Chelsea game

Newcastle wrap up their season at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and while third or fourth place may have a slight financial impact, the fact that Champions League qualification is already assured means the game is effectively dead.

With that in mind, Howe will not risk any of his players suffering minor injuries, which could open the door to a first-team opportunity for some youngsters.

Lewis Miley has been an unused substitute in the Magpies’ last two games and there’s a good chance the 17-year-old midfielder could make his first-team debut at some point in Sunday’s game.

Harrison Ashby, who was benched last night after Joelinton was injured during the warm-up, could also make his senior debut with Newcastle after joining from West Ham in January.

“I can imagine there could be changes for the last game because one or two players are struggling with injuries,” Howe said. “I’ll take a look at things.

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“There are some players who played with injuries. That’s normal at this stage of the season. We don’t have a huge squad – what you saw against Leicester shows what seasoned professionals we have fit and available, then there’s a younger player or two.”

Joelinton’s season is almost certainly over after missing out against Leicester with Elliot Anderson replacing him at left midfield.

“It was a difficult late move,” Howe said. “We assumed Joe would be fine, we didn’t think there was a major concern because of his injury but he had felt in the warm up that he couldn’t play and couldn’t do justice to himself so unfortunately he has lost.”

“Elliot took a hit himself in the last game when he came on (against Brighton) so he wasn’t 100 per cent there but I think he did really well and can be happy with his performance in such a high quality game. pressure game.”