The tough fixtures are coming thick and fast for Eddie Howe and the lads, and it feels like our very next game has particularly high stakes.
Jose Mourinho’s Benfica come to St James’ Park on Tuesday night, and even though the Portuguese giants have lost both of their games so far in this season’s competition, a Mourinho side cannot be taken lightly.
And considering our latest performance against Brighton, we’ll be looking to bounce back with a big win and a much-needed three points which could take us up into the automatic places for the round of 16.
But it’ll have to be a disciplined performance from the team, with one player already at risk of a suspension and missing out on the following game against Athletic Bilbao…
Having been booked against both Barcelona and Union Saint-Gilloise, Joelinton is one bad challenge away from suspension in the Champions League.
UEFA rules state: ‘From the first match in the league phase, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, that did not result in a red card, as well as after any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.) until 1 January 2025.’
So if he was to get booked against Benfica, the big Brazilian will also miss our home game against Athletic Bilbao.
And the visitors look to be a lot more ‘contentious’ under Mourinho than they were under Bruno Lage: from zero yellow cards combined in their game against Qarabag, to seven yellows and a red combined against Chelsea, it could develop into a feisty affair.
Heading into Tuesday’s game, there’s already a lot of pressure on Joelinton from the fans and potentially from Eddie Howe himself.
After a poor display from the entire midfield against Brighton, which saw Joelinton hooked at halftime, a complete performance under the lights at St James’ Park is required from our two Brazilians and Sandro Tonali.
The 29-year-old will also know that both Jacob Ramsey and Lewis Miley will be eyeing up that coveted third spot in midfield: both have some experience in the UCL, and Miley grabbed an assist on Saturday for Nick Woltemade’s equaliser in his best cameo of the season so far.
If we can get through Benfica with all three points and Joelinton available for Bilbao, then Howe can probably count that as our best result of the season so far: Bruno showed last season that the midfielders can show immense discipline when just a single card away from suspension, let’s hope his compatriot can remain just as measured as the captain was last campaign.