Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce hinted he was going to ring the changes for the visit of Burnley.
The Magpies have won just once in their last nine Premier League matches, and last weekend's defeat Crystal Palace heightened fears United could be dragged into a relegation dogfight.
Newcastle remain seven points clear of the relegation zone, with fixtures against Southampton, Sheffield United and Aston Villa to come.
In the end, Bruce opted to make five changes for the visit of the in-form Clarets, with Dwight Gayle, Isaac Hayden, Javier Manquillo, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Ritchie all recalled.
The replacements indicate a change in formation, which Bruce had suggested in his pre-match press conference was forthcoming.
However, the biggest surprise from the announcement was the omission of Allan Saint-Maximin, who joins Nabil Bentaleb, Sean Longstaff, and Fabian Schar on the bench.
The French attacker has frequently been praised throughout the season and has been considered one of the main positives for the Magpies' this season.
Here's how Newcastle fans reacted to seeing Saint-Maximin's name on the bench:
