So much for famous cup nights being a thing of the past with Newcastle United. Perhaps because of the tide of good feeling that swept in with the unexpected but hard-fought victory over Manchester City in the last round, Newcastle have taken a full allocation of 5400 for the quarter final tie at White Hart Lane. Tottenham aren't going to know what's hit them. The question now will be whether Alan Pardew will rest some of his first team with the hugely important home derby against Sunderland coming up just days after on Sunday the 21st. Purposefully weakening the team against City paid off after all, but now some of the key players in that victory - Dummett and Abeid in particular - are in the first team proper, so playing them as cover isn't an option. Newcastle fans will be urging the manager to "do the right thing" and try and win the game - especially after Spurs' bored performance against the Magpies in the league, and the chance to play a double-legged semi-final in the next round surely has to be reward enough for the manager who loves to see his name in lights. Can Newcastle overcome Spurs again? Should Pardew play his full first team to make it through to the semi-final? No doubt a lot will depend on the state of injuries in the run up to the game: if Papiss Cisse, Rolando Aarons, Steven Taylor, Cheick Tiote and Emmanuel Riviere are back at least, there will be more room to rotate without necessarily weakening too much, but if more players join the unavailable list, then it's hard to see Pardew risking another derby defeat to get further in a cup that has already been identified as a distraction.
