Newcastle

Training sessions at Newcastle United will be a lot less cordial after manager Steve Bruce said on Friday that players and staff had been advised to avoid handshakes in a bid to prevent spreading coronavirus.

The United Kingdom now has 19 confirmed cases of coronavirus and Bruce said the club was not taking any chances.

"There's a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning; we've stopped that on the advice of the doctor," Bruce told a news conference ahead of Saturday's match against Burnley.

After a run of four straight draws, Arsenal finally got back in the win column with a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday. The two clubs somehow entered today’s match level on points, but the gulf in quality between the sides was evident from the off as Newcastle’s beleaguered attack managed only two shots on target while Arsenal dripped quality in the midfield and wide attacking areas.

Dani Ceballos and Mesut Özil looked like the most likely creators for the Gunners as the two combined for seven key passes, but Nicolas Pépé was in inspired form as well.

For a club that’s won the FA Cup six times and made it to the final on 13 occasions (only Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have more final appearances), Newcastle’s abysmal recent record in the competition is astounding.

Heading into Tuesday’s Fourth Round replay with third-tier Oxford United, Newcastle hadn’t advanced to the Fifth Round (the Round of 16) in 14 years — that’s despite the club being a Premier League side in each corresponding year apart from two. 

Shrewsbury Town has created one of the biggest talking points in Liverpool’s seemingly golden season. The Reds were handed a surprise 2-2 draw in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Now they will have to partake in a replay, but it seems Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp isn’t too interested in the FA Cup.

Manchester United punished Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday thanks to a devastating performance from the front three of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood. Newcastle’s Matty Longstaff scored the game’s opening goal in the 17th minute, but the Red Devils replied with four unanswered (three of which were down to Newcastle errors) to climb to seventh in the table. 

Two stats stood out ahead of today’s Premier League match between Sheffield and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane: (1) Andy Carroll was handed his first Newcastle start in almost nine years and (2) Martin Dúbravka was busy making his 65th straight EPL appearance for the Toon, a run which began directly following his move from Sparta Prague back in January of 2018.

Both players played massive roles in Newcastle’s bizarre 2-0 victory. 

On Saturday, the impossible transpired: Miguel Almirón recorded his first major contribution for Newcastle United (an assist) in his 24th Premier League appearance. Also, EPL strugglers Newcastle recorded a 2-2 draw with the champions Manchester City. 

Joking aside, it was another performance that showcased why Newcastle fans have been so patient with the 24-year-old Paraguayan (apart from the fact that the squad’s not exactly brimming with potential replacements).

Oh, so that’s how you beat Newcastle United. Aston Villa nullified the attacking threat of Newcastle’s high-scoring defenders on Monday, instead forcing them to actually defend, and utilized a couple of bumbling fouls on the effervescent Jack Grealish to twice unleash dead-ball specialist Conor Hourihane in a 2-0 victory at Villa Park.