Federico Fernandez is set to start his first game under Steve Bruce when Newcastle United welcome Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.
The Argentine international is looking forward to lining up against Ayoze Perez who he spent a season with on Tyneside last year.
The centre back admits it will be 'nice' to see Perez back in Newcastle where he is sure to get a warm welcome back from fans and ex-teammates.
Despite not starting a game in the Premier League this season Fernandez says it is important fringe players 'keep working' for opportunities like tonight.
Chance to impress
From August until December Fernandez was arguably the Magpies' best player last season before picking up an injury and he struggled to regain his place in the team ahead of Fabian Schar.
However, he is not letting that knock his confidence as he looks ready to pounce on his chance of a starting place in the team.
Fernandez said: “It is important for the players who don’t play much at the moment to keep working, focusing on the performance, to try and move on to the next round.
"I think every team is difficult. If you play a team in a different league then sometimes the motivation is low. When you are playing Leicester everyone is excited to prepare a good game.”
A tough ask for the Magpies
The Magpies have been knocked out at this stage by Nottingham Forest in the last two seasons so will be looking to cause an upset against the Foxes.
Fernandez is looking forward to facing another Premier League side as well as Perez his former teammate.
He added: “It is nice to see him (Perez) back in Newcastle and we talked about it in the WhatsApp group so it will be nice.”
“I think it is important for all of the squad to have more games to play. This competition, you never know, it is quite short and if you win a couple of games you never know, you could be playing in the semi-final.
“We need something. It is a massive glory for everyone. We need to believe that we are a really good team and that we can do it.”
Bruce promised to take the cup competitions seriously and despite having six first-team players injured he said he will keep to his promise as he looks to make it into the third round of the competition.