Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Newcastle United will be without Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final trip to Arsenal.
Newcastle United news: Headlines, team updates, match previews and reports - all things NUFC
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Shields Gazette, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
Submitting...
The first leg tie at the Emirates Stadium (8pm kick-off) sees Newcastle return to North London fresh from beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. The Magpies have won six games in a row in all competitions but haven’t won at Arsenal since 2011.
Newcastle were without the suspended Fabian Schar for the match at Spurs and the defender remains banned against Arsenal having picked up a booking in the 3-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford last month. Bruno Guimaraes also picked up a booking in the match and will miss the match.
It’s a rare absence for the Brazilian, who has featured in every Newcastle match since his suspension against AFC Bournemouth in November 2023. Guimaraes has only missed seven matches since arriving at St James’ Park for £40million three years ago but Newcastle have failed to win any of them - they will be looking to end that run in the midfielder’s eighth absence.
Arsenal were interested in signing Guimaraes from Lyon before he agreed a long-term deal with Newcastle in 2022.
Following the win at Spurs, Guimaraes told NUFC TV: “It is very good for the confidence. I am a little bit sad that I will not be able to make the game but I will support the team as a Geordie now and hopefully we can get a good score because the first leg is very important for the second one.
“The confidence is higher, we are in a good moment so I am hopeful we can go there and get a win.”
Guimaraes was filmed singing ‘E I E I E I O! Up the Premier League we go’ with the Newcastle supporters following the full-time whistle at Spurs as he will now miss the following match.
Guimaraes and Schar will be back available for selection in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash against Bromley at St James’ Park. The Carabao Cup semi-final second leg will take place on February 5 (8pm kick-off).
Reflecting on Guimaraes and Schar’s semi-final bans, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: “Bruno and Fabby are two massive players for us, very consistent performers so we're going to miss them massively but that's what the squad is for.
“It goes without saying you want your best players available for the biggest games but we just have to accept it. There's nothing we can do about it and we have to get other players ready to perform.”
Sven Botman has returned from an ACL injury after almost 10 months on the sidelines and will be in contention for the match at Arsenal despite going off with cramp in the closing stages of the win at Spurs.
Howe also admitted the quick turnaround and physically demanding festive period has taken a lot out of his players as he looks to keep energy levels high for the vital cup clash.
“That, of course, is something I am very aware of,” he said. “We went through a spell where we were very inconsistent in our performances so I made a conscious decision to try and be consistent with my team selection to give the best chance of getting consistent results.
“We’ve started to win games so I’ve been very reluctant to change things and unbalance what’s been working for us, and sometimes even within a game, I haven’t wanted to change the dynamic too much unless I feel like I absolutely have to.
“We need to assess how the players feel and we certainly need energetic players for Arsenal. It’s going to be a physical game and a very quick turnaround but it’s the same for Arsenal, if anything they’ve had a harder schedule in the last few days so let’s see how we feel.”