Newcastle United will have to secure the victory they need against Queens Park Rangers to ease their relegation fears without Siem de Jong. Magpies interim head coach John Carver confirmed during his pre-match press conference on Thursday that De Jong would be unavailable for the trip to Loftus Road on Saturday. Adam Armstrong is also unavailable, but it is the absence of attacking-midfielder De Jong that could prove to be the most damaging to Newcastle's survival hopes. Carver's men sit just one place and two points ahead of 18th-placed Hull City ahead of their match against QPR, who have already been relegated alongside Burnley - and they could really have done with De Jong's attacking threat. Rolando Aarons and Gabriel Obertan will be back in the squad though and they are likely to be on the bench for the Premier League match in west London on Saturday (3pm kick-off). Carver was also "annoyed" by the media's portrayal of his "best coach in the Premier League" comments, believing them to have been taken out of context. Sunderland, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Newcastle and Hull can all still be relegated with just two rounds of the Premier League remaining - but a victory could be enough to secure the Magpies' top-flight future for another season. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
