The epic 2-0 destruction of Manchester United on Monday night was marred ever so slightly when Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar picked up a booking in the second half.
Schar had been walking that suspension tightrope for a few games and managed to keep his nose clean right up until the last possible game.
Had Schar avoided a booking in the game against Manchester United, his slate would have been wiped clean and the fear of suspension would have been gone, but a rash challenge saw him pick up his fifth booking and he will now miss Saturday's trip to Tottenham.
Schar will also miss the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal after picking up two bookings in that competition, so Eddie Howe must now find a replacement for the Swiss defender for the next two games.
Usually, either Jamaal Lascelles or Emil Krafth would cover for Fabian Schar, but both are currently injured, leaving Howe with a problem.
He could deploy two right-backs, playing either Kieran Trippier or Tino Livramento as makeshift centre-backs, or go lopsided and play two left-sided centre-backs pairing Dan Burn with Lloyd Kelly or risking Sven Botman.
Botman missed last night's game at Old Trafford through illness, according to Eddie Howe, although after nine months out we doubt he'd have had much game time were he available.
And therein lies the problem. Botman returning is massively great news for Eddie Howe and Newcastle, but after nine months out, he's not going to be anywhere near fit enough to play a full 90 minutes.
It's likely then, that Lloyd Kelly will be the choice to cover for Fabi for the next two games with a couple of cameos from Botman to build up his match fitness.
Beyond that, though, Botman actually has his work cut out for him displacing Dan Burn from the side as the nine-fingered giant has been immense lately and doesn't deserve to be dropped just because the man we paid £35 million for is suddenly fit again.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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25 | 36 | 60 |
2 |
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25 | 29 | 53 |
3 |
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25 | 12 | 47 |
4 |
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25 | 17 | 44 |
5 |
![]() |
25 | 15 | 43 |
6 |
![]() |
25 | 13 | 43 |
7 |
![]() |
25 | 9 | 41 |
8 |
![]() |
25 | 5 | 39 |
9 |
![]() |
25 | -3 | 38 |
10 |
![]() |
25 | 0 | 37 |
11 |
![]() |
25 | 1 | 34 |
12 |
![]() |
25 | 12 | 30 |
13 |
![]() |
25 | -3 | 30 |
14 |
![]() |
25 | -4 | 30 |
15 |
![]() |
25 | -7 | 29 |
16 |
![]() |
25 | -18 | 27 |
17 |
![]() |
25 | -19 | 19 |
18 |
![]() |
25 | -27 | 17 |
19 |
![]() |
25 | -30 | 17 |
20 |
![]() |
25 | -38 | 9 |