Newcastle v Portsmouth preview

Allardyce: Searching for right formula

skysports.com prediction: Newcastle 1 Portsmouth 1

Player to watch: Michael Owen

Sky Bet odds: Newcastle evens Draw 9/4 Portsmouth 9/4

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Newcastle will hope to keep up their excellent home form when they entertain Portsmouth on Saturday.

Both sides are tipped to be in contention for a Uefa Cup place come the end of the season and have made solid starts in the long race for European qualification.

Pompey have earned a lot of praise for their recent performances but Newcastle are just two points behind with a game in hand.

The Magpies have won four of their five Premier League games at St James' Park under Sam Allardyce and another victory will take them above Portsmouth.

Viduka still out

Allardyce admitted this week he was still unsure of his best starting line-up, and he still has still has several players unavailable because of injury.

Mark Viduka, who has not played since September, continues to miss out with a calf injury, so Michael Owen is likely to start alongside Obafemi Martins once again.

Stephen Carr is still sidelined with a hamstring problem, while Damien Duff (ankle) is another long-term absentee.

Abdoulaye Faye is fit again after being taken ill during the 2-1 defeat at Reading last Saturday.

Portsmouth set to be without duo

Portsmouth are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games but they have had a disappointing week and will want to return to winning ways.

Benjani Mwaruwari missed a last-minute penalty in the 0-0 draw against West Ham last Saturday, before Blackburn ended their Carling Cup run in midweek.

Sulley Muntari (hamstring) and Hermann Hreidarsson (groin) missed the defeat to Rovers and look certain to remain on the sidelines.

Pedro Mendes is therefore set to get another chance, while Matt Taylor could be recalled.

Papa Bouba Diop has collected five yellow cards this season but his suspension does not kick in until next week's game against Manchester City.