Newcastle United trio walking disciplinary tightrope in Champions League ahead of Qarabag clash
Newcastle United have reached the knock-out phase of the Champions League competition, in that if they fail to win this play-off tie, they're out. The actual knock-out phase involving all teams is the next round, in which the winners of this tie will face either Chelsea or Barcelona.
Qarabag will certainly be billed as the underdogs in the tie, but they aren't going to be a pushover, especially in the first leg.
Newcastle should arrive in Azerbaijan today after their 2500-mile trip. It's a long way to go for a midweek game and the travel could have a detrimental effect not just on tomorrow's game, but crucially, Saturday's 8pm kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.
Hopefully, any fatigue the players may be feeling tomorrow doesn't manifest itself in the form of bringing players down rather than chasing them down.
Newcastle have three players flirting with Champions League suspension
Newcastle have three players who are one booking away from a suspension in the Champions League, with the counter not being reset until the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Joelinton, who is likely to miss the game tomorrow through injury anyway, has been walking this tightrope for a few games now.
Malick Thiaw and Dan Burn are the other two at-risk players in the squad. If Newcastle lose Thiaw there could be a big problem.
Losing Malick Thiaw to suspension would be a huge blow
Malick Thiaw has started over 30 games in a row for Newcastle, with only the injured Fabian Schar as a ready-made replacement in the squad.
At least we have cover for Dan Burn, but if we have to do without Thiaw, we'll either need to change shape for the home leg or go with two left-sided centre-backs, which isn't the end of the world, but could affect the balance of the team.
Joelinton is close to a return, but we expect that tomorrow's game will come too soon for the Brazilian. We may see him in Manchester on Saturday, though, fingers crossed.
