Granit Xhaka & Sunderland trio at risk of missing Newcastle United clash due to Premier League rules
Sunderland v Newcastle United: Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki are at risk of missing next week’s derby match at the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle United face a trip to Sunderland on December 14 for the first Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016.
The Magpies beat Sunderland 3-0 in the FA Cup in January 2024 but the sides haven’t met in a league game since a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park almost a decade ago.
Sunderland have made a positive start on their return to the Premier League, sitting three points clear of Newcastle heading into Wednesday night’s match against Liverpool at Anfield.
But they also have some key players at risk of suspension in the Premier League.
Sunderland duo at risk of Premier League ban ahead of Newcastle United clash
Sunderland midfielders Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki are just one booking away from a one-match Premier League ban.
The midfield duo have accumulated four bookings in Sunderland’s opening 13 Premier League matches. Premier League rules state any player that picks up five bookings inside a team’s opening 19 league games is automatically handed a one-match ban.
Sadiki picked up his fourth booking against Everton while Xhaka was booked against his former club Arsenal before the November international break.
Both players have been crucial and ever-present for Sunderland on their impressive return to the Premier League so far and have avoided any further bookings in the last two Premier League matches since the international break.
The Black Cats face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening. Any yellow cards for Xhaka or Sadiki in the match would see them ruled out of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City.
But if they avoid a booking against Liverpool only to be booked against Manchester City, they would then miss the derby match against Newcastle.
Still, both players are on course to be handed a suspension at some stage unless they are able to go the next six games without picking up another yellow card.
The Black Cats have some other players at risk of a suspension for the derby with Reinildo Mandava and Trai Hume both on three bookings. They would only be banned for the Newcastle match if they were to be booked against both Liverpool and Manchester City.
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Newcastle United players at risk of a ban
Newcastle have no players at risk of a yellow card suspension for the Sunderland match though some could still be banned in the Premier League later this month.
Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been booked three times in the Premier League this season. As Newcastle only have one Premier League match to play before the derby, no player can reach five yellow cards before the trip to the Stadium of Light.
But they would still have to make it through the next five league matches without picking up two bookings in order to avoid a suspension. Other than the aforementioned trio, no Newcastle player has picked up more than one yellow card in the Premier League so far this season.
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Sunderland Regis Le Bris speaks about Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki’s suspension tightrope
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris played down the concern over a potential suspension for Xhaka and Sadiki in his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Liverpool.
He said: “Yes, we have Noah and Granit in this situation. So we spoke with them. It's not a new situation. So they try to manage the situation properly. We'll see how it goes.
“For the derby, which is probably one of the most important fixtures of the whole season, they have this idea in their mind. But at the same time, if we can win points before and we have a strong squad, we'll manage the situation. So it's not a big, big topic at the minute.”
Sunderland have also been boosted by the availability of several of their players who are set to go away to the African Cup of Nations later this month.
Up to seven Sunderland players could be heading to the tournament but they will not be released by the club until after the derby match
“Good news for the team and for this fixture especially,” Le Bris admitted. “We have a strong group, and that's good because we don't have any injuries and the players who haven't played much before will have opportunities to play. They can contribute as well because the group is powerful with different options.”