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Newcastle have confirmed that their game against Aston Villa on Friday has been postponed, following a coronavirus outbreak in the squad.

A significant number of players and staff have been forced into isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, with the Magpies’ training ground being closed earlier this week.

Newcastle confirmed the news in a statement published on their website, which reads: “Newcastle United’s Premier League fixture at Aston Villa on Friday, 4th December has been postponed following a significant increase in Covid-19 cases at the Magpies’ Training Centre.

❌ #NUFC’s fixture at Aston Villa on Friday has been postponed following a significant increase in Covid-19 cases at the Magpies’ Training Centre.

A new date and time for the game will be confirmed in due course.

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 1, 2020

“Several Newcastle United players and staff members are now self-isolating at home after returning positive test results in recent days and the club’s Training Centre site has been temporarily closed in order to contain the spread of the virus.

“With the Magpies’ first team currently unable to prepare for the match as a group, Newcastle United lodged a request with the Premier League to postpone the fixture at Villa Park, which has been approved by the Premier League Board.

“The match, which was set to kick off at 8pm (GMT) on Friday evening, will now be rescheduled and a new date and time will be confirmed in due course. Newcastle United would like to thank Aston Villa Football Club for its understanding.”

The club went onto state that they would not be naming which players have tested positive for the virus out of respect of their privacy.

The news is the latest blow for Magpies boss Steve Bruce who has already had to deal with a string of injuries this season. Ryan Fraser, Martin Dubravka, Allan Saint-Maximin and five others were forced to sit out of Newcastle’s trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday, making their 2-0 win even more impressive.

Bruce’s side are set to play West Brom on 12 December but whether this fixture will take place on this date remains to be seen.

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The 2020/21 Champions League group stage has reached matchday five.

A handful of clubs have already successfully booked their place in the knockout round, but a number of others can join them with a game still to spare if results go their way this week.

Group A-D fixtures are on 1 December, with Group E-H playing on 2 December.

Here’s a look at who can do what in the competition this week…

Reigning champions Bayern Munich have already qualified from Group A after winning a 17th consecutive European game on matchday four.

They can be joined in the knockout stages by Atletico Madrid, with the pair meeting at Wanda Metropolitano. But Atletico can only secure their progress this week if they beat Bayern, ending that winning streak, and if Lokomotiv Moscow fail to beat Red Bull Salzburg.

Lokomotiv or Salzburg each still have a chance of reaching the knockout round, although neither can do it this week and the odds are stacked against the latter. But Lokomotiv will actually leapfrog Atletico with only one game left if they win at home against Salzburg and the Spaniards lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Lokomotiv Moscow (3pts) vs Red Bull Salzburg (pt)
Atletico Madrid (5pts) vs Bayern Munich (12pts)

Nothing is yet certain in Group B, but Borussia Monchengladbach and Real Madrid have the opportunity to both book their places in the last 16.

A home victory for Gladbach against winless Inter is going to be enough to take them through, while Real will join them if they beat Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.

Even a draw will be sufficient for Gladbach as long as Shakhtar don’t beat Real. They can also win the group and be seeded for the last 16 draw if they win and Real lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Shakhtar Donetsk (4pts) vs Real Madrid (7pts)
Borussia Monchengladbach (8pts) vs Inter (2pts)

Manchester City’s place in the next round is already secure and they can now turn their attention to staying top of Group C to be among the seeded teams.

A point against second-place Porto, having already beaten them earlier in the competition, is the minimum Pep Guardiola’s side need to do it.

But Porto have plenty to play for themselves and will be assured of their own place in the last 16 with a game to spare if they don’t lose. However, Porto can still qualify this week even if they lose to City, as long as Olympiacos fail to beat Marseille.

Matchday five fixtures:
Marseille (0pts) vs Olympiacos (3pts)
Porto (9pts) vs Manchester City (12pts)

Liverpool missed an opportunity to get through to the knockout rounds last week when they were surprisingly beaten by Atalanta at Anfield. They will do it this time if they avoid defeat to Ajax.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will also mathematically secure first place if they win the game and Atalanta do not beat Midtjylland in the other fixture.

Neither Ajax nor Atalanta can join Liverpool (probably) in the next round this week, but these results could go a long way to determining which of them will do it on matchday six.

Matchday five fixtures:
Liverpool (9pts) vs Ajax (7pts)
Atalanta (7pts) vs Midtjylland (0pts)

Chelsea and Sevilla have both already qualified from Group E and go head to head on matchday five. The biggest thing to play for is who will top the standings and be seeded in the last 16.

If either side wins their meeting at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, they will get that honour. A draw, as was the case when they met at Stamford Bridge, would see the issue pushed to matchday six.

The only other thing to play for in this group is whether Rennes or Krasnodar, both with just a single point four games in, will get third spot and qualify for the Europa League.

Matchday five fixtures:
Krasnodar (1pt) vs Rennes (1pt)
Sevilla (10pts vs Chelsea (10pts)

Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are playing each other in Group F this week and both have the chance to seal qualification. Dortmund will do it if they avoid defeat, while Lazio can get there with a win.

Dortmund would actually win the group with a game to spare if they win the contest, putting four points between them and the Serie A side with only three points left to play for.

Club Brugge still have a slim chance of making it through but they have to win against Zenit St Petersburg to realistically keep their hopes alive.

Matchday five fixtures:
Borussia Dortmund (9pts) vs Lazio (8pts)
Club Brugge (4pts) vs Zenit St Petersburg (1pt)

Barcelona and Juventus each secured their respective places in the last 16 with wins on matchday four last week. Who finishes first is the only thing left to play for in that sense.

Barcelona hold a three-point advantage going into the matchday five fixtures and will finish top if they beat Ferencvaros and Juventus fail to beat Dynamo Kyiv.

Alternatively, Barca can also get top spot if they only draw, as long as Juve lose.

Matchday five fixtures:
Juventus (9pts) vs Dynamo Kyiv (1pt)
Ferencvaros (1pt) vs Barcelona (12pts)

Manchester United recovered from an earlier setback by beating Istanbul Basaksehir last time out and are now on the brink of the knockout stages for only the third time in seven seasons.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will secure progress with a game to spare simply by avoiding defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford. No other club can do it this week.

United can additionally take top spot if they beat PSG and RB Leipzig fail to win against Istanbul. If Leipzig actually lose in Turkey, a draw is all United need to finish top.

Matchday five fixtures:
Istanbul Basaksehir (3pts) vs RB Leipzig (6pts)
Manchester United (9pts) vs Paris Saint-Germain (6pts)

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!

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There was a time when a Premier League team delving into the Championship as part of their summer recruitment was viewed with contempt.

However, times have changed, and West Ham’s victory over Aston Villa on Monday night was proof of that.

No fewer than seven players recruited directly from the Championship to the Premier League took the field at the London Stadium – a fixture between two teams in the top half of the table come the final whistle before you scoff –  and undoubtedly the shining light of the Championship alumni was Jarrod Bowen.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a sensational spell in the second tier with Hull City, notching 52 goals in his 124 league games for the club before a move worth up to £25m to West Ham in January.

Bowen struggled somewhat in his first half-season at the London Stadium – though one goal and four assists in his 13 Premier League appearances was a far from shocking return in a struggling Hammers side – however, a step up in class wasn’t the only factor to take into consideration.

At Hull he was the star man, the player his teammates would look to for inspiration as he was given a free role in the team, yet he would be afforded no such royalties in David Moyes’ side.

Playing on the right of a front three, Bowen has been tasked with providing the first line of defence in a rigid Hammers system, with Michail Antonio’s work rate and drive typifying what Moyes looks for in his forwards.

Of course, the step up in divisions has aided in curtailing Bowen’s free-scoring form, but the drastic change in his manager’s philosophy can’t be underestimated.

In his first season at West Ham, the forward clearly struggled to adapt to the change in mentality which had been drilled into him, so much so that much of his attacking endeavour and threat was blunted.

He would regularly find himself shackled on the right side of the front three, unwilling to deviate from Moyes’ rigid system. But given half a season to bed into the role, Bowen is beginning to flourish as he combines his defensive duties with the spark which saw him become so prolific in the Championship.

His winning goal in the victory over Villa was a perfect example of that. Having been tasked with leading the Hammers line but occasionally drifting to his natural wide position, Bowen came infield as Said Benrahma cut onto his right to deliver a cross, with the former Hull man eluding the Villa backline before producing a deft header to glance the ball into the bottom corner.

Perhaps the Bowen of last season wouldn’t have displayed such nous and intelligent movement as he looked to adapt to his newfound defensive responsibilities on the West Ham right.

His performance in the win over Villa was everything we’d come to expect of Bowen in the Championship; direct, menacing and full of guile. Yet it was also a display full of energy, tempo and pressing, something which we didn’t see in his time in the second tier.

After clearly struggling to find the balance required to make it as a Premier League forward, Bowen’s return of four goals and one assist in his ten league games this season is proof that he’s adapted to the change, and if he can continue progressing he could prove to be a huge player for West Ham this season.  

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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided a largely positive update on the fitness and availability of several squad members ahead of their Champions League group stage meeting with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Solskjaer oversaw a famous victory against the French giants in March 2019 before he secured the permanent role as Manchester United manager. The Red Devils repeated the feat on the opening week of this season’s Champions League group stage, winning 2-1 at Parc des Princes.

PSG vs Man United tends to produce big moments. #UCLDraw pic.twitter.com/XBHMllLRiZ

— 90min (@90min_Football) October 1, 2020

After four games played, Manchester United top their group, three points ahead of both PSG and RB Leipzig. The Premier League side’s only defeat in the competition this season surprisingly came against Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir.

Manchester United prepared for Wednesday’s match with a thrilling comeback away to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, though the fitness of both goalkeeper David De Gea and left-back Alex Telles was put in doubt after the pair were substituted during the match.

With 23-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe suspended for the upcoming tie after collecting three yellow cards in the competition, Solskjaer delivered the latest fitness news ahead of PSG’s visit to Old Trafford.

“You know it’s going to be a challenge every time you have the Champions League nights to keep players away,” as quoted by Manchester United’s official website.

“Because they all want to be fit [to play] and everyone has been on the training pitch today. We’re looking good. I think all of them are champing at the bit. David [De Gea] trained well today, as did the rest of the group. It was a good session.”

Left-back Luke Shaw has missed United’s last three matches while Anthony Martial was left out of the squad at St Mary’s on the weekend. Solskjaer provided an update on both players, revealing: “Anthony got through the session and felt okay, so he’s also available for selection. 

“Luke is probably the biggest doubt but the rest of them are holding their hands up saying: ‘I’m ready’. Luke isn’t too far away so let’s see what we do with him for tomorrow. Then, of course, Phil [Jones] has been away for a long time but now we’re getting more and more players ready to participate in every game.”

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The Premier League took an unexpected turn in November. We still don’t know which teams are actually good, but now we don’t even know who’s bad.

Teams have started picking up some surprise results, while others have continued chugging on in the top half of the table, and we’ve never had less of an idea how this season’s going to go. Can Tottenham actually win the title? Will Arsenal genuinely pick up enough points to avoid getting relegated?

Let’s take a look at 90min‘s top performers from November.

Lukasz Fabianski (GK) – Average rating: 7.67/10 – November’s surprise package, West Ham picked up three wins from three to roar towards the top end of the table, and Fabianski’s form helped them keep two clean sheets along the way.

Tariq Lamptey (RB) – Average rating: 7.67/10 – Lamptey impressed so much in his three appearances for Brighton that his late red card against Aston Villa and subsequent suspension can’t harm his stock.

Semi Ajayi (CB) – Average rating: 7.25/10 – Results may not have gone West Brom’s way in November, but that wasn’t for a lack of effort from Ajayi. His monstrous performance against Manchester United ultimately led to nothing, but at least he got the clean sheet he deserved next time out against Sheffield United.

Angelo Ogbonna (CB) – Average rating: 7.67/10 – Another vital cog in the West Ham machine, Ogbonna ended November with two clean sheets and an explosive headed goal. Not bad.

Ben Chilwell (LB) – Average rating: 7.67/10 – Chilwell keeps his place from October after another solid month with high-flying Chelsea. He was on the score sheet against Sheffield United and ended the month with two straight clean sheets.

Riyad Mahrez (RM) – Average rating: 8/10 – Mahrez’s hat-trick against Burnley was one of the best individual performances in the Premier League in November.

James Ward-Prowse (CM) – Average rating: 8/10 – The greatest free-kick taker in the history of the world. The Southampton skipper fired home three this month and walked away with an extra two assists.

Kevin De Bruyne (CM) – Average rating: 7.67/10 – A mixed month for Man City, but an outstanding month for De Bruyne, who set up no less than four of his side’s seven goals in November.

Jack Grealish (LM) – Average rating: 8/10 – 90min‘s Player of the Month, Grealish was Aston Villa’s conductor again. The team’s form may have slowed, but with two goals and three assists, Grealish is still going strong.

Theo Walcott (ST) – Average rating: 7.5/10 – The change of scenery has worked wonders for Walcott, who bagged a goal and an assist as Southampton walked away with seven points from a possible 12.

Harry Kane (ST) – Average rating: 8/10 – He may not be creating 1,000 goals each game these days, but Kane continues to play at a level above the rest. Two goals and an assist were his rewards for an unbeaten month with Tottenham.

For more from ​Tom Gott, follow him on ​Twitter!

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