Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle faces a big week ahead as he looks to turn the tide following back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.

The Magpies were beaten 1-0 at St James' Park by Aston Villa on Saturday evening, and struggled to put up much of a fight against Unai Emery's side. That result came just five days after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Coventry City.

It was a worrying performance from Newcastle United. Jaissle's side were disorganised and mustered just one shot on target. Something has to change, and dropping Joelinton would be a good start.

Matthias Jaissle must drop Joelinton against Crystal Palace

Joelinton has only just returned to first team action having missed the first five matches of the Premier League season due to a hamstring injury suffered just before the start of the 2026/27 campaign.

The Brazilian international came off the bench against Coventry City and was then handed his first start of the season against Aston Villa. However, it was a showing to forget.

The 30-year-old turned in a sloppy performance, regularly struggling to get the ball under his control. Joelinton's tackles were often late and the midfielder was shown a yellow card early in the first half for a dangerous lunge on Johan Manzambi.

Clearly, Joelinton is not back up to Premier League speed. That's understandable after his time on the sidelines, and it's in both the player and the team's best interest that he is dropped for the trip to Crystal Palace next weekend.

The midfielder has a big role to play this season as a more experienced head in a young squad, but seeing more senior colleagues make mistakes is a bad kind of infectious - the midfielder had also handed Coventry City a goal with a poor error earlier this week.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, former Newcastle United man Shay Given said: "The average age is so young. These players are going to take time to settle in.

"There's a time to press and a time not to press, it felt like two or three were pressing and six or seven weren't. The new players are young and inexperienced to the Premier League.

"You look at Nico Gonzalez - he's won the league at Manchester City - can he be a leader on the pitch? Maybe Joelinton can be the voice in midfield?"

That time will come for Joelinton but, against Crystal Palace, Jaissle must start Sean Steur. The Magpies paid £23 million to sign the player from Ajax this summer, but he has been used sparingly.

Joelinton stats v Aston Villa

• Passes completed: 18/22 (82%)
• Tackles made: 1
• Tackles won: 0
• Interceptions: 0
• Recoveries: 3
• Clearances: 0
• Total duels won: 5

Steur impressed in Newcastle United's 2-1 win over Hull City before the international break, when Joelinton was still injured, but was then left out against Coventry City and Aston Villa.

Prior to facing Aston Villa, Jaissle said: "He's knocking on the door due to his quality, he's shown that in training sessions. This is a player who I believe where he will give us so much joy and fun in the future at this club. But he needs time. He's had ups and downs already this season. He should continue developing."

It's a noble stance from Jaissle, but perhaps a luxury he cannot afford. From what we've seen so far this season, Steur is in better form than Joelinton. Put simply, to help the Magpies bounce back from this month's slump, he must be in the XI at Selhurst Park.