Newcastle United vs Stoke City. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance47,139.
Saturday 31 October 2015 09:54, UK
Newcastle will be looking to put their derby day heartache to the back of their minds when they take on Stoke on Saturday.
Last week's defeat against bitter rivals Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne derby will take some time to forget, with captain Fabricio Coloccini's first-half dismissal costing his side as the Black Cats ran out 3-0 winners at the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle were well fancied going into the encounter having hammered Norwich 6-2 the previous week to secure their first league win of the campaign, but Bobby Maddley's decision to award Sunderland a penalty and give Coloccini a red card made the Magpies' task all the more difficult.
After making several high profile signings in the summer, Stoke were widely tipped to impress this season, but a poor start put a dampener on the mood around the Britannia Stadium.
However, a run of just one defeat in six in all competitions, including a penalty shoot-out success over Chelsea in the Capital One Cup, makes this a tough one to predict at St James' Park.
Team news
Coloccini is available for after a successful appeal against his red card at Sunderland, but midfielder Jack Colback could be out for up to six weeks after damaging his knee at the Stadium of Light.
The midfielder joins goalkeepers Tim Krul (cruciate ligament) and Karl Darlow (ankle), defender Steven Taylor and midfielder Gabriel Obertan (both hamstring) and striker Emmanuel Riviere (knee) on the sidelines.
Marc Muniesa is out for Stoke after sustaining an injury during Tuesday's win against Chelsea, and Geoff Cameron (thigh) is also unavailable. Phil Bardsley is suspended following his sending off in that game, but fellow defender Erik Pieters is available again, having served a ban.
Glen Johnson and Bojan Krkic are also set to be back involved after sitting out the cup tie, as is the on-loan Marco van Ginkel, who was ineligible against his parent club Chelsea.
Captain Ryan Shawcross should retain his place after his first appearance of the season against Chelsea.
Opta stats
Newcastle United are without a win in their last three Premier League clashes with Stoke (D1 L2), scoring just once in the process, after winning four of the previous five.
The Potters have scored exactly one goal in each of their last five Premier League meetings with Newcastle.
No side has won fewer Premier League games this season than Steve McClaren's team (one win, along with Aston Villa and Sunderland).
The Potters have picked up three wins in their last four Premier League games (W3 L1); this after failing to win any of the six before that.
Republic of Ireland forward Jonathan Walters has bagged four PL goals against Newcastle; only against Liverpool and QPR has he managed more (both five).
The Magpies have thrown away seven points from leading positions in the top-flight this season; only Aston Villa have dropped more (eight).
Merson's prediction
Newcastle are probably sat there now thinking how they lost 3-0 to Sunderland. Even when they went down to 10 men they were the better team. Coloccini should never have been sent off, I know it's been rescinded but it's a bit late, Geordies have to stomach that for six months.
Stoke picked up a good result in midweek against Chelsea but their four-game winning run came to an end against Watford, which was a weird result. I don't usually go against Stoke but I fancy Newcastle here.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 17/2)
Betting
Newcastle are Sky Bet's 7/5 favourites for the victory with Stoke 15/8 and the draw priced at 23/10. The Magpies were cut to 5/4 for relegation following their derby defeat at Sunderland, while their visitors are hardly ruled out from facing the drop at 7/1 after their defeat to Watford.
Aleksandar Mitrovic is the 11/2 favourite to score first and is being backed to do so by Matt Le Tissier in his Sky Bet tips, while Mame Biram Diouf is considered the Potters' main goal threat at 6/1.
