A bitterly cold Monday evening provides the backdrop for a vital Premier league fixture for Alan Pardew’s Newcastle, who are looking to end a run of four straight defeats when they take on Wigan at St James’ Park. In Fantasy terms, there is perhaps limited interest, with Demba Ba still carrying the hopes of some despite scoring just one goal in his last five league appearances. Our Dugout Discussion chatroom is open to cater for those who fancy some real-time banter during tonight’s proceedings.
The team news from the North East finds the home side handing Sylvain Marveaux his first league start of the season; he replaces the suspended James Perch. Pardew’s side are set to lineup up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Demba Ba presumably leading the attack, although it will be interesting to see how he works with Papiss Cisse in that formation. The visitors also make one change: Roberto Martinez is able to welcome back Gary Caldwell to his defence after injury, with Adrian Lopez dropping to the bench.
