Newcastle United have the chance to extend the gap to fifth place to six points with a win in the early kick-off against Leeds United in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Magpies are currently three points ahead of Liverpool in the table and have a game in hand over the Reds, whilst also boasting a better goal difference.

Eddie Howe's side are in the hunt for Champions League qualification and three points against Sam Allardyce's Leeds would go a long way to helping them secure it.

They head into the game off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at St. James' Park last weekend and the head coach could make changes to his XI for this match at Elland Road.

Will Allan Saint-Maximin start against Leeds?

Howe must finally unleash Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin from the start against the Whites to offer a direct threat out on the left flank.

The manager opted to deploy two of his traditional number nines against the Gunners by playing Alexander Isak on the left and Callum Wilson through the middle but they did not combine to cause the opposition many problems throughout the game.

Wilson, in particular, put in a disappointing display and the head coach could now ditch the England international from the starting line up. As per Sofascore, the striker completed 38% of his attempted passes, failed in his only dribble attempt, did not register a single shot on goal, and lost five of his six individual duels.

Isak, who has scored ten goals in 13 Premier League starts, could move back into a central position to accommodate bringing Saint-Maximin into the XI.

The exciting Frenchman, who was once hailed as "breathtaking" in a previous clash with Leeds by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, started games against Manchester United and West Ham at the beginning of April and registered assists in both outings.

He has racked up one goal and five assists, whilst creating seven 'big chances' for his teammates, in just 11 Premier League starts for the Magpies and this shows that the gem has the quality to be a difference-maker in the final third at this level.

The £70k-per-week "wizard" - as he was once dubbed by journalist Graeme Bailey - has also completed 61% of his attempted dribbles, on 2.1 efforts per game, and has the ability to drive the team up the pitch by taking on opposition defenders and opening up space for others to work in.

Therefore, Howe must unleash Saint-Maximin against Leeds at Elland Road this afternoon and should ditch Wilson from the XI in order to do so.