Newcastle United face their third Premier League game in 10 days when they take on a Leeds side who have had a 10-day break due to fixture rearrangements, at St. James' Park on Tuesday night in the 6pm kick off on BT Sports as Steve Bruce fights the fixture list & effects of Covid-19 fatigue, the local press and Newcastle fans to save his job and guarantee Newcastle's top-flight future.

The Magpies lost 2-0 to Aston Villa on Saturday night yet have still mustered 19 points from the first 19 games for the season, a points total at the halfway stage that has only been bettered in the club's last 6 Premier League seasons by Alan Pardew with 26 in 2014/5 and Bruce himself last season with 25 points, a figure Newcastle would more likely be nearer now without the ravaging effects of Covid-19 since the serious December outbreak.

The under-fire Newcastle boss vowed in his pre-match press conference to fight on and guide Newcastle back up the top flight table as he prepares his side to face Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds side tomorrow night at St. James' Park:

"There's no disputing we're on a difficult run. The quicker you get a result the better..
As I've said before we're not alone in The Premier League, that's what a difficult League it is. All you can do is prepare the best you can, try and ignore the noise, and focus on the match which is another opportunity, and get ready for the challenge of Leeds..
We've got to go and get a result."

The powers-that-be at Newcastle have decided that 'noise' has crossed the line and have banned the written media from interviewing Bruce after sustained articles and scurrilous attacks on the Head Coach with none of the balance or support afforded his predecessor Rafa Benitez despite worse runs of form of 3 points from the opening 30 of 2018/9 or 4 points from 30 in 2017/8 compared to Bruce's 8 points from the last 30.

Newcastle face the Leeds team that beat them 5-2 in mid-December to begin a woeful 10-match winless sequence including being knocked out of both League and FA Cups yet Bruce's opposite number was very aware of the affect of the Covid-19 crisis during that period for The Magpies, saying:

"All teams have highs and lows, there's teams who have had bigger injury problems and have had to suffer because of Covid a lot more than others and this has an influence on the succession of the results and the games."

Leeds have had 10 days off following the postponement of their game against Southampton due to The Saints' Cup entanglement which has given The Whites some rest and respite following a 3-game losing slump of their own with successive 3-0 losses to Spurs in The Premier League and Crawley Town in The FA Cup before a 0-1 reverse against Brighton at Elland Road thanks to this quality team goal:

Bielsa will be looking to bounce back and end that run of defeats and will approach the St. James' Park game with confidence after the 5-2 win when Newcastle fell apart defensively in the final stages due partly to that Covid fatigue yet there was also a big penalty shout that would have restored Newcastle's lead that Callum Wilson was denied before Isaac Hayden was mysteriously booked for a very similar challenge to his ire:

There's no doubt Newcastle are "in a bad moment" to use the buzz phrase for a team struggling yet other managers and teams like Arsenal and Mikel Arteta or Man Utd and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have stood by their managers and seen positive turnarounds after periods of struggle this season and have reaped the rewards of that faith & patience.

Other, like Chelsea today who sacked Frank Lampard, have chosen to twist not stick and Thomas Tuchel has been charged with turning around The Blues.

Yet Newcastle's and Bruce's response to the slump has been a unique one - the imminent appointment of highly regarded, experienced Geordie coach Graeme Jones, who was no. 2 to Roberto Martinez during his time at Swansea, Wigan and Everton plus won a bronze medal at The 2018 World Cup with the Belgium national side.

Nicknamed 'Bonner' from the Geordie slang for 'Bonfire', Jones' appointment is designed to light a fire under the Newcastle squad and coaching staff and reinvigorate everyone for the rest of the season to get the results and points Newcastle need. Hopefully through the entertaining, attacking style he has helped inspire at his previous coached sides with Bruce again stressing how the coaching staff not just his players have been affected by Covid and fresh eyes and help will give everyone a boost:

Jones is expected to be an interested spectator at the Leeds game, before his official appointment midweek, a match that will hopefully prove a turning point for Newcastle's form & season with Allan Saint-Maximum due a starring role off the subs bench again.

Prediction - Newcastle 3 Leeds 2 in another entertaining affair like at Elland Road.

Potential Line-Ups: