Newcastle United vs Preston North End. Carabao Cup Fourth Round.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance49,042.
Tuesday 25 October 2016 20:32, UK
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is likely to shuffle his pack for Tuesday night's EFL Cup fourth round clash with Preston.
Chancel Mbemba, Isaac Hayden and Aleksandar Mitrovic are among a group of players who have played peripheral roles in recent weeks and are likely to be involved as the Sky Bet Championship leaders attempt to book a place in the quarter-finals.
Midfielder Cheick Tiote could also return to contention after the Middle East transfer window closed without a move materialising, while striker Daryl Murphy, who made his only appearance for the club to date in the 2-0 victory over Wolves in the last round, will hope to play a part after shaking off a calf problem.
But goalkeeper Rob Elliot and defender Massadio Haidara (both knee), as well as midfielder Rolando Aarons (fractured metatarsal), continue to work their way back to match fitness.
Preston striker Jermaine Beckford, who has been sidelined since August by a hamstring strain, could make his return to action in the game at St James' Park.
However, the match is probably too soon for Aiden McGeady (hamstring), while John Welsh (calf) has been ruled out.
Neither will Marnick Vermijl or Alex Baptiste as they are cup-tied.
Other certain absentees are Calum Woods and Stevie May, both due to long-term knee problems.
Opta Stats
Newcastle won the only previous League Cup meeting between these sides, 3-0 at St James' Park in September 1963.
Preston have lost their last five games against Newcastle in all competitions, failing to score in the last four.
Newcastle have reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup in just one of the last nine previous seasons (prior to 2016-17), losing out to Tottenham in December 2014.
Meanwhile, Preston have never reached the quarter-final of the League Cup in their history.
North End have won five of their last six League Cup ties against sides from the same division as them, losing the other to Derby in August 2008.
Charlie Nicholas' prediction
Well Newcastle are going well again now with Rafael Benitez getting some graft from his team to go with the quality.
If you're a club of this stature then why would you not consider having a go at this competition? I know there's a lot of games to get through, but when you get to this stage against significant underdogs then it's a chance to give something back to the fans that have kept faith.
Jonjo Shelvey seems to have his swagger back and Dwight Gayle is scoring plenty of goals, so I'd make these along with Arsenal my home bankers.
I was on with Gerry Francis, who I've always had great respect for, and he surprised me by saying Gayle is one of the best finishers he's worked with, which is saying something given he has worked with the likes of Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand.
Charlie predicts: 2-0 and Gayle to score first
