Newcastle have the opportunity to move level on points with 17th-placed Watford as they face Leicester in the Premier League today.

The Magpies, barring a win by four goals or more, will remain in the bottom three as the Hornets boast a stronger goal difference as it stands.

They come into this game off the back of their first win in the division last weekend against Burnley, beating the Clarets 1-0 thanks to a goal from Callum Wilson.

Liability

Whilst it was a superb result for the Magpies, one player did struggle in the game and should now be brutally axed from the XI - Fabian Schar.

He was a liability against Sean Dyche's side and was carried through the match by the impressive Jamaal Lascelles at centre-back. As per SofaScore, he lost 11 of his 13 duels on the pitch, losing both of his battles on the ground and nine of his 11 in the air. This shows that he was a lightweight who was unable to compete physically against the Burnley forwards, which allowed them to dominate him throughout the game.

Lascelles, meanwhile, won an impressive 12 of his 14 duels overall. He won 11 of his 13 aerial battles and his only ground duels, whilst making six clearances and one tackle. The Magpies skipper showed that he was able to stand up and be counted for in the relegation scrap, which is more than what could be said for Schar.

Toon legend Alan Shearer previously called the defender a "danger" due to his ability to score from the defence, but he has only scored one goal for club and country since the start of the 2020/21 campaign. This suggests that he does not carry the same threat in the present, having scored six goals in his first two Premier League seasons for the club.

In half a dozen Premier League outings this season, Schar has lost 55% of his duels and made two errors directly leading to shots at Newcastle's goal. This, along with his worrying display against Burnley, shows that he has been a liability for the club this term and highlights why he should be axed from the starting XI.

The £8.1m-rated dud managed to get away without his dreadful performance costing Howe against Burnley, as the team still picked up the win, but there is no guarantee that he will be so lucky a second week running. So, he should be taken out of the spotlight and placed on the bench to allow another player to come in and get a chance to perform.

AND in other news, PIF can land NUFC's new Coloccini with swoop for £120k-p/w "monster" dubbed the "best"...