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SUSPENSION RISK: JOELINTON, THIAW, AND BURN ONE YELLOW CARD AWAY FROM MISSING SECOND LEG
Newcastle face Qarabag tonight! Discover why Joelinton, Thiaw, and Burn are one card away from a ban as injury woes mount.
Three Newcastle United players are staring at possible suspensions just as the team gears up for Wednesday’s Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag. Eddie Howe’s squad, who finished 12th in the league phase, head to Azerbaijan hoping to grab an early advantage and get closer to the last 16.
But they’ll have to do it with a patched-up lineup. Bruno Guimaraes, Yoane Wissa, Sven Botman, Lewis Miley, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, and Emil Krafth are all out injured. Some of them might be back soon, but for now, the bench is looking thin. The last thing Newcastle needs is to lose even more players to suspension.
Right now, Joelinton, Malick Thiaw, and Dan Burn are all one yellow card away from missing a game. Three yellows before the quarter-finals means you’re out for a match. Joelinton’s been walking that line since the 4-0 win over Union SG; he picked up bookings in both of Newcastle’s first two group games. Thiaw got his yellows against Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen. Burn was cautioned in the opener at home to Barcelona and again away at Marseille.
With a two-legged tie against Qarabag and a possible two-legged Round of 16 still to come before the slate gets wiped clean, these three and a few others need to get through four more matches without another booking if they want to avoid a Champions League ban.
There are a handful of players sitting on a single yellow as well. Another two yellows before the quarter-final, and they’re suspended too. Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Aaron Ramsdale, Joe Willock, Anthony Elanga, and Anthony Gordon have all been booked once so far this season in Europe.
For the Qarabag game, Thiaw and Burn are set to start at centre-back since Botman and Schar are both still out. In midfield, Joelinton could slot in with Guimaraes and Miley sidelined.
After missing the last six matches, including Saturday’s win at Aston Villa, Joelinton is finally back, and Howe confirmed he’ll be involved against Qarabag.
“Joelinton’s back in the squad, so that’s a great boost for us,” Howe said before the match. “He’s such an important player, a big presence, a real leader. He trained yesterday and looked really good, so we’re delighted to have him back. No one else from the injury list has travelled from the last game, so we’re still missing quite a few, and some of them are real quality players.
“They’re big losses, but our spirits are high after our last two games. We’ll put out the strongest team we can because this game is massive for us. We’re not looking ahead to the schedule; this one matters on its own.”
SHEARER’S RECORD BROKEN: HOW ANTHONY GORDON BECAME NEWCASTLE’S ALL-TIME CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SCORING LEADER
Anthony Gordon makes history: Discover how his four goals vs Qarabag broke Alan Shearer’s record in Newcastle's 6-1 victory.
Anthony Gordon ran riot in Baku, firing four goals as Newcastle United steamrolled Qarabag and all but sealed their Champions League last-16 play-off.
Eddie Howe had talked about turning nights like this into club history, and his team really delivered. This was Newcastle’s biggest-ever European win, and they did it on Qarabag’s turf at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium.
Now, Qarabag aren’t pushovers. They’ve drawn with Chelsea, beaten Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt, and even seen off Copenhagen. But they looked completely outmatched from the start. Newcastle just tore into them. Gordon, especially, was unstoppable. He didn’t just give Qarabag headaches; he became Newcastle’s all-time top scorer in the Champions League, overtaking Alan Shearer in the process.
It took him two minutes. Dan Burn charged forward from the back, slipped Gordon through, and Gordon finished coolly into the bottom corner. Newcastle smelled blood. Kieran Trippier swung in a dangerous cross, and Malick Thiaw rose highest to nod in the second. Qarabag’s manager, Gurban Gurbanov, tried to regroup his shell-shocked players, but Newcastle just kept coming.
A few minutes later, Harvey Barnes fired at goal, and Matheus Silva blocked it with his arm. VAR told the referee to check the replay, and Newcastle got a penalty. Gordon stepped up. Kochalski, the Qarabag keeper, guessed right and got a hand to it, but Gordon’s shot was too strong.
And Gordon wasn’t done. Right after the restart, Qarabag defender Kevin Medina made a mess of it, Gordon pounced, rounded Kochalski, and tucked in his third. Then, just before halftime, Kochalski brought Gordon down in the box. Another penalty. Gordon took it himself; no chance for Kochalski this time either. Four goals, and it wasn’t even the break yet.
Qarabag did manage to pull one back after halftime. Elvin Cafarquliyev squeezed one in from a tight angle, but any hope didn’t last. Jacob Murphy came off the bench and scored a deflected long-range goal to restore Newcastle’s five-goal cushion.
Gordon had said a few weeks ago that Champions League teams “are much more open; they all try and play.” He couldn’t have been more right. This was new territory for both clubs, their first-ever knockout tie in the Champions League, but Newcastle looked like they belonged. The gap in quality was massive.
Howe picked a strong lineup. He respected Qarabag, but he also knew they’d leave space, and Gordon made the most of it. Even after his hat trick, he insisted on taking the second penalty instead of handing it over to Nick Woltemade. Trippier, the stand-in captain, didn’t look too happy about that when they left the pitch, but Gordon’s hunger is part of what makes him so dangerous.
Honestly, Newcastle could’ve scored even more. Kochalski actually made some great saves, but Newcastle had 22 shots, 14 on target, and 39 touches in Qarabag’s box. In the end, they “settled” for six goals.
With the tie pretty much wrapped up, Howe can rest players for the return leg at St. James’ Park. But you just know Gordon will be itching to add to his ten Champions League goals this season.
TACTICAL SHIFT: HOW EDDIE HOWE UNLOCKED SANDRO TONALI’S GOALSCORING INSTINCTS AGAINST VILLA
Sandro Tonali's brace sends Newcastle into the FA Cup fifth round: Read the full Villa Park report and Bruno Guimarães injury news.
Sandro Tonali showed up when Newcastle United needed him most, sending Aston Villa crashing out of the FA Cup.
With Bruno Guimaraes sidelined, everyone wondered who’d step up. Tonali didn’t just fill the gap; he owned it. News broke late the night before that Guimaraes would be out for ten weeks, and you could almost hear the groans from Newcastle fans. They haven’t won a single Premier League match without him this season. It felt like the season might be slipping away.
Newcastle supporters, already battered by years of bad luck and a never-ending injury list, braced for the worst. How would they survive without their midfield heartbeat? But when the pressure was on, Tonali took charge. He smashed in two long-range goals, turning Valentine’s Day into a celebration for the travelling Toon Army.
People have talked plenty about Tonali lately: whispers about his form, transfer rumours, what his agent might be up to, and even frustration after that loss to Manchester City. All of that faded away in 90 minutes. With two clinical strikes, he reminded everyone exactly where his loyalties lie. Sure, there’ll be more rumours before the summer, but right now, Newcastle have a midfielder who can fill the Guimaraes-sized hole.
Thanks to Tonali, everyone talked about Newcastle’s football after the match, not the referee’s blunders. Chris Kavanagh handed out dodgy cards and missed a few big calls, but Newcastle’s win made all that easier to swallow. If they’d lost, you can bet Eddie Howe would’ve had a few words.
But they didn’t lose, and Tonali ended up the hero, sending Newcastle into the FA Cup fifth round. Howe summed it up: “The only way Sandro can answer questions about his form is out on the pitch, and he did exactly that today. We needed players to step up with Bruno out, and all three midfielders did just that. Sandro got two, and Nick grabbed one; our midfielder made a huge difference. We're going to need that until Bruno’s back.”
Speaking of Nick Woltemade, he finally broke his goal drought after 14 games. The 6,000 away fans let him know how much they appreciated it, singing his name long after the final whistle.
Howe praised Woltemade too: “Nick was brilliant in that deeper role, and he deserved his goal. He’s been working hard, learning a new position, and today it paid off. He did the job, on and off the ball, and finished it off with a great goal. I’m really happy for him. Hopefully, this gives him the confidence to keep going and shows him what’s possible for his future here.”
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