JOELINTON might be one booking away from an automatic two-match ban, but Eddie Howe will not be instructing the Brazilian to change his game against Liverpool tomorrow as he admits his competitive midfield instincts are a key part of Newcastle United’s game plan.

Joelinton picked up his ninth yellow card of the season when he was penalised for a foul in the latter stages of last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, meaning he will be hit with an automatic two-match suspension if he picks up another booking before the Magpies’ 32nd league game of the campaign.

If the South American was to be booked tomorrow, he would still be able to play in next weekend’s Carabao Cup final with Manchester United as his suspension would only apply to Premier League games, but it would still deprive Newcastle of a key option in a part of the field where they are already short of numbers.

Howe admits it would be a blow to be without Joelinton for two league matches, but argues it would be counter-productive to try to get the repositioned midfielder to alter his natural game.

“If you look at the booking last week, it’s mistimed by such a small margin,” said the Magpies boss. “He’s such a good transitional player, and he puts out a lot of fires for us.

“Defensively, his positioning and his tactical understanding are excellent, but he’s physical and he’s going into a lot of duels. His stats on tackles, duels and aerial wins this season have been incredible.

“With that comes the reality that you’re going to get a few wrong, and they’ve ended up being bookings for him. We’re desperate not to lose him, but we also don’t want to change the way he plays.”