Venue: Luzhniki Stadium Date: 7th March K/O: 5:00PM GMT
Team News
Anzhi head in to this Europa League last 16 match with a full team to choose from. This means Newcastle could come up against the likes of Willian, Etoo and Diarra in Moscow on Thursday night. They recently acquired Emir Spahic from Sevilla to replace the outgoing Christopher Samba and he is expected to debut on Thursday. Newcastle on the other hand have a few new issues to worry about. Papiss Cisse has been left at home due to a virus and Pardew said in his press conference Jonas Guttierezs knee didnt respond well to the artificial pitch so he has also stayed on Tyneside. Good news comes in the form of Hatem Ben Arfa who could feature for the first time since December but probably from the bench. Coloccini and Krul are still out injured. The most recent news on captain Coloccini is that he has broken two bones in his back, and could be out for between 3 and 7 weeks, according to
BBC Sport.
Match Preview
Newcastles European adventure brings them now to Moscow. Anzhis Degastan home has been deemed unfit by UEFA so they are now forced to play their matches at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Anzhi will probably be Newcastles most formidable opponents to date with a fantastic record so far in the competition: their qualification process began two stages before Newcastles with a 5-0 aggregate win over Hungarian side Honved. Rounds against two Dutch sides followed as they dispatched of Vitesse Arnhem 4-0 and Alkmaar 6-0 respectively. The group stage brought more joy for the Russian side as they won all three home games against Udinese, Young Boys and Liverpool but only brought home one point on the road away to Udinese. This allowed Anzhi a second place finish in the group and they progressed to a difficult looking tie against Hannover. However Anzhi dismissed with them relatively easily winning 4-2 on aggregate. The Russian league is currently on a winter break but Hiddinks side sit second in a strong league. Europa League results and league position strongly highlight how tough a test this will be for Pardews men, especially with Anzhi winning every game at home in the competition. However, Newcastle are probably in the best form of their season, losing just two of seven in all competitions. They dismissed a strong Metalist Kharkiv in the last round and having recently pulled away from the relegation zone and they will fancy European glory. If Newcastle want to progress they will have to build on their away win in Ukraine, as before then the Magpies had not won one of their four European away matches. An interesting tie seems to be on the card in Moscow as one of the favourites for the competition host a Newcastle side desperate for silverware.
Possible Line Ups
Anzhi Makhachkala: Gabulov, Eschenko, Ewerton, Spaphic, Zhirkov, Diarra, Akhmedov, Boussoufa, Jucilei, Willian, Etoo.
Newcastle United: Elliot, Simpson, Yapou-Mbiwa, Taylor, Haidara, Anita, Cabaye, Marveaux, Sissoko, Obertan, Ameobi. Source:
BBC Sport