Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Fabian Scharhave all picked up four Premier Leaguebookings this season and are therefore one away from serving a one-match suspension. As per Premier League rules, any player cautioned five times in their team’s opening 19 league games must serve a one-match ban.
Joelinton has gone seven matches without being booked while Schar has avoided punishment in his last four fixtures. Tonali, meanwhile, moved onto four cautions after being penalised for a foul on Curtis Jones during the Magpies’ 3-3 draw against Liverpool on Wednesday.
That means the trio must avoid a yellow card in the next five matches otherwise a one-match ban will be enforced. When United visit Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, January 4, the threshold increases to 10 yellow cards in 32 games.
Speaking specifically about Schar and Joelinton last week, Howe said: “It’s a difficult one to go into too much detail on that with the players as they need to be free. Joey needs to be free to play his game and one of his biggest strengths is his ability to win the ball and cover every blade of grass and to be physical with his opponents.
“Part of the reason that I withdrew him on Monday [vs West Ham United] was to make sure we had him for the next day. He is such a pivotal figure for us. With those guys, the likelihood is that they will get booked before the cut off point but that’s why we have the squad.”
Elsewhere across the squad, Lewis Hall is also close to the five-game threshold having been booked three times this season. Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Nick Pope and Lloyd Kelly sit on two yellows, while Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock are on one.
