4:52PM, Thu Sep 20, 2012

Maritimo v Newcastle United Preview Europa League Group D

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Newcastle begin their Europa League Group D campaign away to Maritimo without the services of leading strike duo Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba.

Cisse has been withdrawn from the squad because of illness, while Ba's absence comes on the back of his agent hitting out at manager Alan Pardew's decision to name him among the substitutes for Monday's draw at Everton.

The Senegal forward stepped off the bench to score twice at Goodison Park, but has not travelled with the rest of the Magpies party to the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Pardew has also left midfield duo Yohan Cabaye and Jonas Gutierrez out of his plans with a number of youngsters drafted in for the continental campaign.

Goalkeeper Tim Krul (elbow), defenders Danny Simpson and Fabricio Coloccini (both hamstring) and Ryan Taylor (knee), as well as midfielder Cheick Tiote (calf) miss out through injury.

Cisse's place in the squad has been taken by 17-year-old Adam Campbell, while James Tavernier, Shane Ferguson, Mehdi Abeid, Haris Vuckic and Sammy Ameobi are also included.

After their impressive efforts last term which culminated in a fifth-place finish, the North East club have not won in the Premier League since their opening day success against Tottenham.

Very strong

Maritimo warmed up for Thursday night's game with a creditable 1-1 home draw with Sporting Lisbon and when asked how he had viewed the Magpies' slow start, boss Pedro Martins said: "It's normal.

"They beat Tottenham, which was a good result, and then they lost at Chelsea, which is normal because Chelsea are a very strong team.

"They played on Monday night and had a good second half, they were very, very strong. They play in a very British way and it will be a very, very difficult game."

Maritimo earned their place in the group stage of the competition by defeating Asteras on away goals after drawing 1-1 in Greece, and then Georgians Dila, winning 1-0 at home and 2-0 away.

That unbeaten start to their campaign has given them confidence that they can extend it by making life intensely difficult for Newcastle in the humid conditions at their stadium.

Martins said: "It's very important to win your home games. That is our short-term aim so we can be strong in the future."

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Barclays Premier League

Pos	Team	P	Pts
14	Southampton	38	41
15	Aston Villa	38	41
16	Newcastle United	38	41
17	Sunderland	38	39
18	Wigan Athletic	38	36

Fixtures & Results

April

Europa League Group D - Thu 4
FT	Benfica	3-1	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 7
FT	Newcastle	1-0	Fulham
Europa League Group D - Thu 11
FT	Newcastle	1-1	Benfica
Barclays Premier League - Sun 14
FT	Newcastle	0-3	Sunderland
Barclays Premier League - Sat 20
FT	West Brom	1-1	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sat 27
FT	Newcastle	0-6	Liverpool

May

Barclays Premier League - Sat 4
FT	West Ham	0-0	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 12
FT	QPR	1-2	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 19
FT	Newcastle	0-1	Arsenal