Newcastle 3 - 0 Stoke City

Newcastle will be looking to move into the UEFA Champions League places when they face Stoke at St James' Park on Saturday.

The Magpies are aiming to continue their five-game winning streak against the Potters; a run of form that has seen them move up to fifth in the Premier League.

With Tottenham, who are level on points, playing on Saturday evening, Alan Pardew's side have the incentive of putting pressure on the top four.

The Toon boss has constantly ruled out his side's chances of reaching Europe's top competition for next season but having not dropped points in over a month there is a renewed sense of belief in the North East.

Their run of form has been largely due to Papiss Cisse's free-scoring form, combined with a defence that has conceded just once in five games.

Cisse has taken the Premier League by storm since his arrival from Freiburg in January, scoring ten goals in just nine games.

The Senegalese striker has been paying tribute to team-mates Demba Ba and Cheick Tiote this week and has asked the club to keep hold of their star players.

While Newcastle have Champions League qualification to play for, Stoke City have little to aim for at the end of the season.

Tony Pulis' side make up a group of six teams in the Premier League separated by just one point, from Sunderland in ninth to Stoke in 14th.

As with all the mid-table sides, the aim is to finish in the top half of the division, which would be a first for the club since their return to the top flight.

After coming back to the top tier in the 2008/09 season, Stoke's highest finish was 11th in the 2009/10 campaign.

To beat that record at the end of this term would be deemed as a significant success for the Staffordshire outfit who are looking for their first away win since January.

Since beating Blackburn at Ewood Park at the turn of the year, the Potters have struggled on the road.

In that period, however, they have travelled to the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, so Saturday's trip to Newcastle offers little respite.

Team news

Newcastle have not played since April 9th and the break has given Pardew the chance to welcome back some first-team players.

Cheick Tiote did not feature in their previous game against Bolton but has recovered from a hamstring problem and is likely to take the place of the injured James Perch.

Tim Krul suffered a back problem in training but should be fit, while Leon Best, Danny Guthrie and Gabriel Obertan could return to the bench after recovering from their respective injuries.

Midfielder Sylvain Marveaux has not featured since November but has returned to training after a five-month lay-off.

Stoke are likely to be unchanged for the trip to Newcastle, with Jermaine Pennant suffering from an illness.

Andy Wilkinson missed both games during the Easter period and will return to the squad after being out with a groin injury but is only likely to be on the bench.

Possible Starting XIs:

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Ba

Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Delap, Palacios, Whitehead, Etherington, Crouch, WaltersForm guide:

Newcastle: LWWWWW

Stoke: LDDLWD

Injuries:

Newcastle: Perch, Lovenkrands, Taylor, Sammy Ameobi, Marveaux

Stoke: Pennant, Sidibe

Referee: Andre Marriner

Opta Stat: Papiss Demba Cisse currently has the best minutes/goal ratio in Premier League history, netting a goal every 68.4 minutes.

Sky Bet odds: Newcastle 4/6 Draw 11/4 Stoke 4/1

Two goals from Yohan Cabaye and another from the prolific Papiss Cisse helped the Magpies to a convincing success on Saturday, with the tie all but sewn up before 20 minutes had been played.

Alan Pardew's side looked like a team full of confidence in the opening exchanges and it came as no surprise when they broke the deadlock.

With just 14 minutes on the clock, Hatem Ben Arfa escaped down the left and hung up an inviting cross for Cisse to power goalwards.

His effort cannoned back off the face of the crossbar, but Cabaye was on hand to nod home the rebound.

The Frenchman was then at the centre of Newcastle's second four minutes later, as he slid a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Cisse to roll past Asmir Begovic.

A star showing from Cabaye was then completed on 57 minutes when he sent a curling effort from the edge of the box arching into the bottom corner.

Stroll

Newcastle ran out knowing victory would take them into fourth place, for a few hours at least, but perhaps more importantly, give them a healthy advantage over sixth-placed Chelsea.

The return of Cheick Tiote provided added steel in the midfield, but what promised to be a battle developed into something of a stroll.

Stoke started brightly and they might have gone ahead with just 10 minutes gone.

England striker Peter Crouch, who had got little change out of his early duels with Mike Williamson, climbed high above the defender to head down Marc Wilson's long ball, but Jonathan Walters volleyed high over the top.

But the game changed within four minutes as Pardew's men flexed their muscles to go ahead.

More precisely, they showcased the individual talent of Frenchman Ben Arfa who, having spent most of his time until that point wide on the right, turned up on the left to bamboozle Wilson and chip an inviting cross to the far post.

Cisse's eyes lit up as he powered a header back across keeper Begovic and waited for the net to bulge, but his disappointment at seeing the ball come back off the crossbar was short-lived as Cabaye stopped to convert the rebound.

Roles were reversed four minutes later as Stoke were carved wide open by the brilliance of the former Lille midfielder.

Cabaye collected Jonas Gutierrez's pass in the middle of the field and, having spotted Cisse's run, slid an inch-perfect ball into his path for the Senegal international to dispatch it left-footed past the helpless Begovic.

Combative

The Frenchman's individual display was a joy to behold as he ran the game in front of the combative Tiote with Stoke threateningly sporadically from set-pieces, but without forcing keeper Tim Krul to make a save.

It seemed only a matter of time before Newcastle added to their lead, and it took a smart diving save by Begovic to deny full-back Davide Santon after he ran on to another Cabaye pass.

Pardew will no doubt have warned his troops to be prepared for a backlash in the wake of opposite number Tony Pulis' half-time team talk, but they might have extended their lead within seconds of the restart.

Ben Arfa slipped effortlessly past Matthew Etherington on the right before floating another teasing cross to the far post, where leading scorer Demba Ba, without a goal since 5th February, chose to chest it down rather than head directly at goal and saw Begovic make a vital block.

Ba and Cisse were proving too hot for Stoke to handle, and they combined to good effect once again with eight minutes of the half played for the latter to find the back of the net from close range after Begovic had spilled the former's shot, although from an offside position.

But they had to wait just four minutes longer for the third goal to arrive when, after Ben Arfa and Ba had probed at the visitors' defence to little real effect, Cabaye took charge to curl an unstoppable shot across Begovic and into the bottom corner.

Pardew decided Cabaye's work was done four minutes later when he replaced him with James Perch to a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd.

The newcomer distinguished himself within seconds when he hurled himself into the path of Crouch's goal-bound shot.

Newcastle were in rampant mood and Ba forced another save from Begovic before skipper Fabricio Coloccini headed wide.

Begovic had to pull off fine saves to deny Tiote twice within the final four minutes and spare his side further punishment.

Man of the match: Yohan Cabaye. Scored two and made the other, you cannot ask for much more than that.

Goal of the match: Cabaye's second saw him collect the ball on the edge of the box and send a curling effort past the flailing arms of Asmir Begovic.

Save of the match: Begovic's late stop to deny Cheick Tiote was out of the top drawer, as he tipped a stinging 25-yard drive over the crossbar.

Moment of the match: Newcastle had the game won from the moment they opened the scoring, with Stoke unable to offer a response.

Talking point: Can Newcastle cling on to a UEFA Champions League place? Where will Stoke finish the season?