Newcastle v Leeds - League Cup match preview

A tale of two Uniteds Newcastle take on Leeds at St James' Park tomorrow evening with both sides eyeing progression to the next round of the Capital One Cup.

Kick-off is at 7:45pm and a winner must be achieved on the night with extra time or penalties on the agenda if the two sides can't be split throughout the course of the evening.

This game give Newcastle a chance to put the defeat to Hull behind them in front of their own fans, and a travelling army of around 6,000 Leeds who will be making the trip to the North East hopeful of their side causing an upset. It can't happen but all too often it does when Newcastle are concerned so complacency can't be afforded on any level if Alan Pardew and Co are considering having a serious stab at a cup run.

Newcastle:

Steven Taylor, Shola Ameobi and Massadio Haidara and Ryan Taylor are all out for this one whilst Yohan Cabaye is struggling with a groin strain. Jonas Gutierrez could feature after recovering from his recent hamstring injury however.

We are also likely to see some faces who are on the edge of the first team at the moment. Players such as Sylvain Marveaux and Cheik Tiote may be upgraded from their spaces on the bench and given a run out whilst younger players like Curtis Good and Paul Dummett may see some time on the pitch in much the same way they did in the last round.

Leeds:

Stephen Warnock is available again after serving suspension so Sam Byram remains Brian McDermott's only fitness concern. The versatile 20-year-old will undergo a fitness test prior to the match.

Previously...

Newcastle progressed to this round by beating Morecambe away last month. Leeds have had to negotiate two ties to get this far, beating Chesterfield 2-1 in the first round before seeing off Doncaster 3-1 away from home.

Stats and facts...

Newcastle have failed to eliminate Leeds from any cup competition since the club was formed. The covers four meetings, two in the FA Cup and two in the League Cup with those games taking place in 1931, 1933, 1966 and 1982.

This will be Alan Pardew's first home League Cup tie in charge of United. The last home tie we played was the 4-0 home defeat to Arsenal at the tail end of the Chris Hughton era.

Newcastle have lost just one of their last nine games against Leeds (all in the Premier League), winning six and drawing two.

Final thought:

Ordinarily I'm all about giving some fringe players the chance to impress in games lie this whilst retaining a certain amount of strength to get the job done, but the performance against Hull (this is the first time I've mentioned it!) requires a change of approach and I'd like to see a full team named from the start.

Papiss Cisse has to start for me. He's gone 16 hours since he last found the back of the net and he needs something to fall for him soon, but if it doesn't happen against Leeds then action needs to be taken and he needs replacing for the next league game. This is his last chance.

We've seen how we can play, so treat this game as any other league game and try to go about it in the same way that had fans feeling upbeat just a few days prior to the Hull debacle.

Howay the lads!

Date: Wednesday, 25th September, 2013

Time; 7:45pm

Venue:St James' Park