Newcastle United's game against Aston Villa on Friday night is in danger of postponement amid a coronavirus outbreak at the club.
A growing outbreak of Covid-19 has forced the Magpies to shut their training ground until Wednesday at the earliest after a significant number of staff and players tested positive for the virus.
Manager Steve Bruce confirmed prior to last week's win over Crystal Palace that three individuals were self-isolating, with two more confirmed to be affected over the weekend.
With that number now rising further, the Magpies are able to lodge an appeal with the Premier League to postpone Friday's fixture.
Yet how likely is that appeal to succeed?
It was reported by the Daily Mail prior to the season beginning that the Premier League are set to take a hard stance when it comes to postponing matches.
Clubs will be obliged to utilise their under-21 squads to ensure matches can be played, with games only being called off if fewer than 14 players are available.
Guidance sent to clubs stated that any young player who has played a minute of first-team football for any Premier League, EFL or overseas club should be promoted to the senior set-up to make up the numbers if necessary.
That could see the likes of Kyle Scott, who spent 2018/19 on loan at Dutch side Telstar, and Rodrigo Vilca, who played senior football for Deportivo Muncipal before moving to Tyneside in October, both called up.
Another player that could be called up include Stefan O'Connor, who has played on loan at MVV Maastricht and York City.
Therefore, it depends on the amount of first-team players that need to self-isolate as to whether the Premier League will grant the postponement.
