Papiss Cisse
Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse will have to shoulder the goal scoring burdern against Brugge after compatriot Demba Ba injured himself Reuters

Newcastle United travel to Belgium to play Club Brugges and the Magpies' manager, Alan Pardew, will be keen to return with all three points and confirmation of a place in the knock-out stages. The club is top of Group D with seven points from three games. Brugges, meanwhile, are third with three from three and in the middle of an awful run of form.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is scheduled for 6 pm BST and live coverage is available on ESPN and ESPN HD.

Overview

Club Brugge will be very low on confidence as it is ever possible - they have not won a game since a 2-0 home win over Portuguese side Maritimo in an earlier group stage match and you have to go back to 23 September for their last league win - 4-0 at home to Cercle Brugge KSV. This is a run of one win in seven games and five defeats in the last five games. That abysmal sequence has seen them drop to eighth in the Jupiler League. More importantly, the recent defeats has seen coach George Leekens sacked. For now, reserve coach Phillipe Clement is in charge and it is he who will lead the team against Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Pardew and Newcastle will know there are three points on offer at the Jan Breydel and those three points will seal qualification to the knock-out stages with two rounds of games still to go. That would allow the Englishman rest key players and focus on improving performances in the Premier League, particularly with some tricky games coming up - at home to Swansea on 17 November and away to Southampton and Stoke City on 25 November and 28 November respectively.

Team Form

Club Brugge

  • Last Five Matches (most recent first): L L L L L
  • Last Match: Club Brugge 0 - 1 Zulte-Waregem

Newcastle United

  • Last Five Matches (most recent first): D W W D L
  • Last Match: Liverpool 1 - 1 Newcastle

Team News

Club Brugge: The hosts have only one long-term injury - midfielder Victor Vazquez with a collarbone issue. However, they also have to do without Israeli international Lior Refaelov and Macedonian forward Ivan Trickovski, both of whom failed fitness tests. Clement has only a small squad of players to choose from, with Jesper Jorgensen and Vadis Odjidja the only available midfielders. Former Tottenham midfielder Jonathan Blondel is suspended for this game.

Club Brugge: Jorgacevic; Hogli, Hoefkens, Buysse, Figueras; Odjidja-Ofoe, Jorgensen, Tchite; Bacca, Lestienne, Vleminckx

Newcastle United: The Magpies too have quite a few injury concerns, particularly after the intense 1-1 league draw at Anfield. French midfielder Yohan Cabaye will probably not feature - or at best start from the bench. The big blow, however, will be the absence of Senegal star striker Demba Ba, who has aggravated his ankle injury. The African has been left behind in England, as have James Perch, Steve Harper, Danny Simpson, Jonas Guttierez and Hatem Ben Arfa. Dan Gosling, Haris Vuckic, Rob Elliot and Ryan Taylor are also unavailable, meaning Pardew has a very significant selection headache ahead of this game.

Newcastle: Harper; Santon, Taylor, Coloccini, Ferguson; Bigirimana, Tiote, Amalfitano; Obertan, Cisse, Shola Ameobi