Newcastle United v Brentford: Keith Andrews’ side are without one of their key players for Saturday’s trip to St James’ Park.
The Magpies have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions and face a Brentford side that beat them 3-1 in the reverse fixture back in November.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring that day before his strike was cancelled out in the second half by Kevin Schade and an Igor Thiago brace. Newcastle defender Dan Burn was sent off in that match after a second bookable offence, conceding a penalty that was ultimately converted by Thiago.
This time, Brentford will be facing the consequences of a red card after Schade was sent off in the 1-0 win against Aston Villa last time out in the Premier League.
The German forward was shown a straight red card for stamping on Villa defender Matty Cash and will miss the next three Premier League matches as a result.
Saturday’s match at Newcastle will be the first match Schade is suspended for which will come as a blow for The Bees given his impact this season. Schade has scored six goals in 17 appearances in the Premier League this season, following on from his 11 goal haul last campaign.
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Premier League rules ban Brentford forward
The FA rules enforced by the Premier League state that a player shown a red card for violent conduct, as Schade was, must serve a three-match ban.
But unlike yellow card suspensions, red card suspensions carry over through all domestic competitions.
As such, Schade will miss the match against Newcastle and following game against Arsenal in the Premier League as well as the trip to Macclesfield in the FA Cup fourth round before returning against Brighton & Hove Albion on February 21.
Newcastle have no players under suspension or at risk of a ban due to yellow cards, but they are sweating on the fitness of several key players.
Newcastle United team news
Newcastle will be without Joelinton, Fabian Schar, Tino Livramento and most likely Emil Krafth for Saturday’s clash.
Eddie Howe also has concerns over the fitness of Lewis Miley and Bruno Guimaraes after the midfield pair missed recent matches.
Miley was an unused substitute against Liverpool and dropped out of the squad entirely for the Carabao Cup trip to Manchester City due to a leg issue.
Club captain Guimaraes was forced off with an ankle injury in the 3-0 Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven last month and hasn’t been seen in action since.
The Brazilian missed the defeats against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City but was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week.
It is hoped that Guimaraes and Miley will both be back involved against Brentford with Howe set to provide a further update on their fitness ahead of the match.
One player who is a fresh concern is Anthony Gordon, who was forced off with a hamstring problem at Man City on Wednesday evening. While not thought to be serious, it makes him a doubt for Saturday’s match at St James’ Park.
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