It's Sunday service again for Newcastle following our Europa League exploits on Thursday as Stoke City come to town for yet another important Premier League game that could go a long way to determining where in the league table we end up finishing.Decent recent form from the Magpies has given us a bit of breathing space in the relegation battle but wins yesterday for the likes of QPR and Aston Villa emphasise that teams down there are still fighting and I think we need 2 or 3 more wins to just really confirm safety.Of all the games that are left this game is one that really offers the opportunity for 3 points - we are on home turf and Stoke are on a poor run of form.That isn't taking anything for granted, this kind of game is one we notoriously tend to struggle in but if we can get 3 points today that would take us up to 33 points with a clutch of other clubs including Stoke.I have heard a few murmurings from people wanting to keep an eye on Thursday's Europa game with the team selection today but for me we need to go into this one full strength, get the 3 points and then worry about Thursday.Yes there is a real opportunity to progress in Europe but the Premier League has to take priority and with a couple of tough away games coming up I think we need to make sure we get 3 more points on the board in this one.As ever Stoke will be a tough proposition irrespective of their current form and you know you will get a physical game from them which we will need to match.The likes of Krul and Coloccini are still missing with their injuries but the likes of Jonas, Santon, Cisse, Tiote and Steven Taylor should all come back into contention after being rested on Thursday - only Taylor and Tiote playing any part in that game coming off the bench.Ben Arfa came through 60 minutes following his injury problems so I would expect him to be involved again although likely from the bench I would say.I have seen talk of Mike Williamson maybe getting a start to help combat their set pieces etc but I don't see any reason to not go with Taylor and Yanga-M'Biwa as I think they both have the edge in physical strength that Williamson doesn't have as well as the issue that Williamson may not be match sharp.Assuming the likes of Cisse are fit as expected I would go with a 4-2-3-1 consisting of: Elliot, Debuchy, Yanga-M'Biwa, Taylor, Santon, Tiote, Cabaye, Jonas, Sissoko, Goufrann, Cisse.I think there is enough in that team to get the 3 points in the bag and then we can maybe look to take 2 or 3 off in preparation for Thursday with us having a strong bench with the likes of Ben Arfa, Anita, Marveaux etc likely to be on there.No time for tiredness excuses - need to get the job done here as a 3 points could really get us looking up that table rather than down it which confidence wise should help us going into Thursday.
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