Alan Pardew and Yohan Cabaye will come up against their former employers on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle United travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.
The Eagles will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to Sunderland on the Monday Night Football, with the Magpies currently struggling in the bottom-half of the Premier League.
Newcastle also suffered defeat last weekend after an in-form Jamie Vardy helped Leicester City to a 3-0 win at St James’ Park.
Palace looking to redeem themselves against Pardew’s former club
At home this season, Palace has really struggled to break down their opposition, the complete opposite to the side of last season, and with the Magpies looking anxious at the minute, it could be a cautious start to the game at the weekend.
Pardew wasn’t exactly a fans-favourite at St James’, but many will agree that he done a good job with the resources he has, taking them into the Europa League a few seasons back.
His time there has come and gone and he will be looking to get one over on his former employers, and the last time these sides met, it ended all square in a 1-1 draw after Fraizer Campbell cancelled out Papiss Cisse’s earlier goal.
Rumours surrounding Armstrong’s return to save McClaren
Adam Armstrong has impressed greatly during his short spell at League One side Coventry City and could be about to be recalled to save Steve McClaren’s woes up front.
Taking away the six goals scored in one game against Norwich City, the Geordies have only managed to score nine goals in the other 12 games, causing a problem for McClaren.
Although Palace haven’t been on a great run of late, there still has to be someone at the other end to put the ball into the net, and three points would be crucial to Newcastle’s hopes of avoiding another relegation battle.
Stats really don’t mean everything in football, do they?
Newcastle’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth ended a run of 12 league away games without a win, drawing two and losing 10, and they have also only scored three goals during those games.
They have failed to score in seven games this season, more than any other top-flight side, while the hosts have only managed three wins in their last 11 league games.
During his time on Tyneside, Pardew won 37% of his league games as boss, compared to only 16% since he departed for Palace in December 2014.
Team News
Palace will be able to name an unchanged starting XI with only Bakary Sako the only one set to miss out after picking up an injury in the previous matchday.
There is a chance that Marouane Chamakh will feature at the weekend after coming off the bench on Monday, but given his run of injuries, Pardew may opt to leave him on the bench.
Pardew may also be able to call upon former Sunderland forward Connor Whickham after his involvement on Monday, but Dwight Gayle might miss the game due to a hamstring injury.
Unlike the hosts, Newcastle will have to make an enforced change from last week’s side after Cheick Tiote was forced off with a hamstring injury.
With the Ivory Coast international side-lined, this will be hand the chance to someone like summer-signing Florian Thauvin to try and push for a place in the team.
Tim Krul, Rolando Aarons, Steven Taylor and Gabriel Obertan are still out long-term as is Massadio Haidara causing a real selection headache for McClaren.