Norwich City vs Newcastle United. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow Road.
Tuesday 14 February 2017 19:01, UK
Newcastle will welcome top scorer Dwight Gayle back for the trip to Carrow Road to face Norwich in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday.
Gayle has not played since January 14 due to a hamstring injury but is now ready to return and manager Rafael Benitez will be tempted to place him straight back in his starting XI.
"It's important to have the top scorer coming back," Benitez told Newcastle's official website. "In one way it's a boost for everyone, because he was doing really well and hopefully he can carry on scoring goals until the end of the season."
Norwich, who are on a five-match unbeaten run in the league, are chasing a fifth successive home win as they continue their quest for a top-six place.
Team news
Norwich manager Alex Neil has two or three players who are touch and go for Tuesday's game.
Neil refused to reveal their identities but defender Ivo Pinto was taken off with a knee problem during Saturday's 5-1 home thrashing of Nottingham Forest.
The Canaries will be able to call on Norway midfielder Alex Tettey again, though, as he returns from a two-match suspension.
For Newcastle, Aleksandar Mitrovic could drop down to the bench despite scoring the winner against Wolves at the weekend while Daryl Murphy is also available up front.
Vurnon Anita is recovering from ankle trouble and Rolando Aarons has a long-term knee complaint.
Opta stats
Mitrovic has scored three goals in three league appearances against the Canaries, including a brace in his only appearance at Carrow Road.
Norwich are unbeaten in six league games against the Magpies at Carrow Road (W4 D2), scoring at least twice in each of those victories.
The last three league meetings between Norwich and Newcastle have seen a total of 20 goals scored (6.7 per game).
Norwich have won more Championship points in 2017 (16) than any other side and have won all four home games in this calendar year so far. The last time they won their first five home league games of a calendar year was in 1986, when they won their first six on their way to promotion from the second tier to the top-flight.
