Premier League rules will ban Newcastle United star for two games if this happens v Manchester United

Newcastle will be looking to bolster their chances of Champions League qualification further with a first league double over Manchester United in 95 years.

The Magpies currently sit fifth in the Premier League table which will be enough to secure Champions League qualification but they face stiff competition from the likes of Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa heading into the final run of matches.

And with several injury concerns to manage, Eddie Howe and his side will be keen to avoid any suspensions or further absences. But two players are at risk of a ban as things stand.

Joelinton & Dan Burn at risk of a Premier League ban for Newcastle United

Any player who is booked 10 times up to and including a club’s 32nd game of the Premier League season is handed a two-match ban as a result.

Dan Burn has eight bookings so far in the Premier League this season and must avoid a booking against Manchester United or the following match against Crystal Palace in order to pass the 32-game threshold and avoid a ban.

Brazilian midfielder Joelinton faces a slightly more difficult task as he is on nine bookings and will be banned should he be shown a yellow card against Manchester United or Crystal Palace. Should he get through the next two matches without a booking, the threshold moves until the end of the season and 15 bookings.

Any player shown 15 bookings is handed a three match ban though the record for most bookings in a Premier League season stands at 14.

What Premier League rules say about bookings

Premier League rules state that any player who accumulates 10 bookings inside the opening 32 Premier League matches must serve a two-match ban.

Any player who is booked five times in a club’s opening 19 games is banned for one match with Joelinton, Burn and Fabian Schar serving such a suspension earlier this season. Unlike red card suspensions, yellow card suspensions are competition-specific.

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Eddie Howe reacts to potential Joelinton ban

Joelinton has been on nine bookings since picking up a yellow against Fulham at St James’ Park over two months ago. A knee injury saw him miss the following three Premier League matches before he returned to the side and has since managed to go three league games without a booking.

When asked about the potential of a ban for Joelinton, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe told The Gazette: “Yeah, unfortunately for Joey, he's a very competitive player. He's always on the line, I'd say, in terms of that side, but you need players like that in your squad.

“We'd be desperately disappointed after losing him to injury, to lose him for two games, but hopefully he can control himself like the last time he was on the precipice of a ban. I think he went a number of games without getting booked, so fingers crossed he can do the same.”

Joelinton scored in the previous meeting with Manchester United as Newcastle won 2-0 at Old Trafford back in December.

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