Newcastle United star facing ban — questions asked ahead of Manchester United Carabao Cup final

Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton is walking a tight-rope following his yellow card in last night’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

The Brazilian almost avoided his ninth yellow card of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign until he was penalised for a foul on Jefferson Lerma in injury time.

That means a 10th booking in next Saturday’s clash at home to Liverpool will force Joelinton to serve a two-match ban.

Of course, the next game after the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s side is the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United - but there is good news.

The suspension wouldn’t count for the Wembley final, so Joelinton is free to play, although he would miss the next two league matches against Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The only way Joelinton, or any other Newcastle player for that matter, could miss the cup final is if they are shown a straight red card against the Reds.

It is inevitable that Howe will be without Joelinton at some stage. Premier League rules state any player that is shown 10 yellow cards in their side’s first 32 Premier League fixtures will serve a two-game suspension.

To avoid that, the 26-year-old must avoid a caution in his next 11 games. Newcastle’s 32nd game of the league season is set to be a trip to Everton on April 25.

Bruno Guimaraes, who was shown a straight red card during the semi-final victory over Southampton, will serve the final game of his suspension against Liverpool.