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Gutierrez: Set to return

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Newcastle United hope to call on Jonas Gutierrez as Coventry City get set to hand Jon Stead his debut at St James' Park.

Chris Hughton will be looking to guide the Magpies back to the top of the Championship table after being usurped by West Brom on goal difference following the Baggies' 1-1 draw at Cardiff on Tuesday night.

Hughton may be able to bring Gutierrez back into his team after the Argentinian winger missed Saturday's 1-1 draw at Swansea due to a muscle strain.

Shola Ameobi will play no part after Hughton confirmed that the striker faces a couple of weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Nicky Butt (thigh), Jose Enrique (hamstring) and Steven Taylor (knee) all remain unavailable for selection, while Joey Barton (foot) is set to return to training this week following his injury lay-off.

Striker Leon Best, who joined the club on transfer deadline day, will be hoping to grab his first goal for the Magpies when he lines up against his former employers.

Coventry news

Coventry have injury doubts for the trip to the North East, but new signing Stead is likely to feature for Chris Coleman's side.

Stead is set to go straight into the squad after joining on loan for the rest of the season from Ipswich and fellow loan signing Freddie Sears will also be pushing for a starting berth after coming off the bench to make his debut in Saturday's 1-0 win over QPR.

Coleman has doubts over James McPake (back) and David Bell (shin) and it is unlikely that the duo will feature against the Magpies.

But Aron Gunnarsson, who missed out on Saturday with a leg injury, put himself back in contention for a place in the squad after returning to training on Monday.