OPINION
Newcastle United travel to Everton on Monday night in the Premier League and Islam Slimani must be given his first start for the club.
The Magpies visit Goodison Park on the back of four straight victories in the league and that has seen any relegation fears eliminated.
Rafael Benitez’s side are now up to 10th in the table and a top-eight finish is still on the cards if they end the season strongly.
Newcastle are just a point adrift of Everton in ninth, while eight-placed Leicester City are just three points above them having played a game more.
It would be a sensational campaign if they end up in the top-half and it’s a sign of how well Benitez has done at St James’ Park.
The attention must now be on three points away to rivals Everton and a tactical tweak the manager should make is promoting Slimani to the starting XI.
He has featured just twice off the bench since his January loan move from Leicester, with injuries frustrating him, but he is now ready to fire for the remainder of the season.
Slimani, 29, has already impressed supporters with his cameo roles and is a no-nonsense powerful centre-forward that can make a positive impact.
Newcastle have looked weak in the final third for the most of the campaign and it’s their defensive masterclasses that have quite often seen them grind out points.
However, in Slimani they have a real nuisance of a striker that can lead the line effectively and would be a strong bet to open his Newcastle goalscoring account if he starts on Monday night.
The Algeria international has proven for his nation, Sporting Lisbon and Leicester that he can be clinical in the penalty area, which is why he must get the nod from Benitez in the next league fixture.