The major negative to come out of Newcastle United’s win over Man United – it’s not Kieran Trippier

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Newcastle United comfortably beat Manchester United on Monday night, but it was not a perfect evening at Old Trafford.

It almost was. Newcastle beat Manchester United 2-0, and easily could have won by more. Eddie Howe’s side were absolutely dominant, particularly in the first half. They created so many chances, with Alexander Isak having a goal disallowed and Sandro Tonali hitting the post.

The second half was more about defending, as Newcastle United kept the Red Devils at bay. While Ruben Amorim’s side had a lot of the ball, they did not really test Martin Dubravka.

Alan Shearer was buzzing with Newcastle’s performance, as they made it five wins on the bounce in all competitions. It is four wins in a row in the Premier League, while it is also four clean sheets in a row.

Fabian Schar now suspended for Newcastle

Newcastle have looked much more solid at the back in recent weeks, but there will be a change to Eddie Howe’s back four when the Magpies face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

That is because Fabian Schar is suspended, after the 33-year-old picked up his fifth booking of the season during the second half of the win over Manchester United.

It is the only major negative to come out of an almost perfect night at Old Trafford, as Newcastle won away against Man United in the Premier League for the first time since 2013.

Schar will now miss Newcastle’s next two games, with the defender also suspended for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal on January 7th. That is due to him picking up two bookings in the competition, with Bruno Guimaraes also set to miss the game at the Emirates.

Who could replace Schar against Tottenham Hotspur

Eddie Howe now has a selection dilemma ahead of Newcastle’s next game. He will need to pick someone else to play at centre-back alongside Dan Burn, with Schar set to miss out.

The most likely candidate to come into the side is Lloyd Kelly, despite the former Bournemouth man being left-footed. He is more suited to being the left-sided centre-back, but Howe does not have a direct replacement for Schar.

Emil Krafth is back running after his operation, but it would be a major surprise to see him take Schar’s place against Spurs.

Elsewhere, Sven Botman is yet to make a senior appearance since recovering from an ACL injury.

Following Newcastle’s win over Manchester United, Eddie Howe confirmed that Botman has been suffering from illness and that is why he was not involved at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman could be part of the matchday squad to face Spurs, but it would be risky of Howe to thrust Botman straight back into the starting XI for such a high stakes Premier League game.

While it might be uncomfortable to play with two left-footed centre-backs, Kelly looks primed to play against Tottenham alongside Dan Burn.