Newcastle United will be without the services of four players for Saturday’s visit from AFC Bournemouth: Joelinton (suspended for yellow card accumulation), Fabian Schar (recovering from surgery to treat an infection in his foot), Bruno Guimaraes (thigh injury) and Emil Krafth (knee). Guimaraes will be the first to come off the injured list, but that won’t happen until next week, at the earliest.
It has been a disappointing season, to say the least, at St. James Park. One has to wonder if the seat is warming for manager Eddie Howe right now.
AFC Bournemouth at Newcastle United FYIs
Kick: Sat. April 18, 3pm, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK
Newcastle United Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Google Result Probability: Newcastle Win 49% Draw 24% AFC Bournemouth Win 27%
Premier League Standing, Form: Newcastle 14th, 42 pts LWWLL AFC Bournemouth 11th 45 points DDDDW
AFC Bournemouth Team News
They sit 14th in the table, which is obviously brutal, but they’re only five points out of the seventh position, which qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League competition next season.
Obviously, UECL is not what you want, but at least it is something. Shifting gears to the Cherries, they are only two points outside of the aforementioned seventh position. Of course they would still have to leapfrog a couple teams to get there, as they currently sit 11th in the league.
Fitness/injury wise for Andoni Iraola’s club, Julio Soler (thigh) could be back in action for this match while Lewis Cook (also a thigh injury) will not.
Justin Kluivert (knee) remains out as a longer-term injury absentee.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post