Newcastle United begin their quest for a first domestic trophy since 1955 when they face Blackburn Rovers in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Steve Bruce's side come into this clash at St James' Park with added confidence, after reigning victorious on the opening day of the Premier League season against West Ham.

Blackburn began their Championship season on Saturday with a 3-2 defeat away to newly-relegated Bournemouth.

Newcastle or Blackburn will face the winner of Morecambe or Oldham Athletic away from home in round three, a mouthwatering prospect for both League Two sides.

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Team news - Newcastle United

Head coach Steve Bruce has confirmed that Ryan Fraser and Ciaran Clark will start the game.

Fabian Schar, Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummett and Dwight Gayle all remain sidelined with injuries.

Matty Longstaff is a doubt for the cup tie with a thigh injury.

Team news - Blackburn Rovers

Bradley Dack and Sam Gallagher are still both unavailable for Rovers with long-standing injuries.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray has revealed that midfielder Bradley Johnson will also miss the trip to Tyneside with an ankle injury.

Predicted lineups

Newcastle United: Gillespie; Yedlin, Clark, Lascelles, Lewis; Ritchie, S.Longstaff, Hayden, Fraser; Almiron; Joelinton. (4-4-1-1)

Blackburn Rovers: Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Williams, Bell; Evans, Holtby, Travis; Rankin-Costello, Dolan, Armstrong. (4-3-3)

Ones to watch

Newcastle new boy Ryan Fraser is certainly the one to watch in this fixture.

The Scottish international has not played a competitive game since March, due to him not agreeing on a deal with his former club Bournemouth to feature in their remaining 'project restart' games.

Fraser will be keen to hit the ground running with his new teammates, in a bid to set an impression and be apart of Sunday's squad to face Brighton.

Rovers right-back Ryan Nyambe is set to have a tough evening marking the left-winger, mainly due to his explosive pace and crossing ability.

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Blackburn forward Adam Armstrong will be facing his former club in this cup tie, making him the one to watch for the away side.

The 23-year-old is arguably Rovers star man - he finished the 2019/20 Championship season with 16 goals and six assists - symbolising his importance to the Blackburn setup.

Armstrong will be looking to take advantage of Newcastle centre-back Ciaran Clark's lack of match fitness, in a bid to knock his boyhood club out of the cup at this early stage.

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Previous meeting

The last time Newcastle and Blackburn faced each other was in January 2019 in an FA Cup third-round replay, where The Toon ran out eventual 4-2 winners at Ewood Park.

The game was tied at 2-2 after 90 minutes, but goals from Joselu and Ayoze Perez in extra time sealed Rafa Benitez's side a place in round four.

Where to watch on TV

The game kicks off at 19:30 BST and is available to watch in the UK on the EFL's iFollow service.

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