Newcastle United will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Monday night when they host bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion at St James' Park on Saturday.

The Magpies went into the clash on Merseyside on the back of a run of four successive Premier League victories, which had resulted in them surpassing the magic 40-point mark and preserving their top flight status for another season.

However, they failed to get on the score-sheet against Sam Allardyce's men as Theo Walcott's goal six minutes after half-time proved to be the difference between the two clubs, with Ayoze Perez in particular guilty of missing opportunities.

Rafa Benitez will be determined for his team to get back to winning ways against the lowly Baggies, who will definitely be relegated unless they pick up the three points, in order for them to try and end what has been an impressive campaign in eighth position.

The Spanish manager made one change against the Toffees as loanee Islam Slimani came into the starting XI in place of Dwight Gayle, and he may well be considering making more alterations on Saturday to ensure that his side take some momentum into the 2018/19 campaign.

Here is how Newcastle must line up against West Brom, ahead of Martin Dubravka in goal…

Benitez has stuck with the same back five for a number of Premier League matches in a row now, and while DeAndre Yedlin perhaps should have done better for Theo Walcott's goal on Monday – and was criticised by Toon fans on Twitter for his part in it – the likes of Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett still did well.

Benitez will want to keep some consistency in his defence going into the next season, and he should stick with the defensive quartet again for the visit of West Brom to St James' Park, once again captained by Jamaal Lascelles.

As with the defence, Benitez has stuck with the same four players in midfield – Matt Ritchie, Mo Diame, Jonjo Shelvey and Kenedy – but following their first defeat in five matches and with survival already tied up, he should look to switch things up against West Brom.

Isaac Hayden revealed to The Chronicle this week that he is hoping for more first-team opportunities between now and the end of the season, and the former Arsenal man should come in for Diame against the Baggies, with the Senegal international deserving of a breather.

While Kenedy and Shelvey should continue on the left and in the centre respectively, Benitez should also hand Jacob Murphy a chance to impress on the right, in place of Matt Ritchie.

The in-form Ayoze Perez started behind loanee Islam Slimani against Goodison Park with Dwight Gayle dropped to the substitutes' bench, and he had five efforts on goal – although he failed to get on the score-sheet on a disappointing night.

Rather than play Slimani on his own against West Brom, Benitez should look to bring Gayle in for Perez and play him alongside the Algeria international to see how the duo work together, and to see whether they could form a potential partnership next season should the Magpies sign the 29-year-old centre-forward on a permanent basis.

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