Newcastle United will be keen on making it five consecutive Premier League wins, when they travel to the south of Wales to take on Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday.
The Magpies are on a sensational four-game winning streak in the league, which includes victories over heavyweights Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. And as a result, the club - which was battling to avoid the drop zone early on in the season - are currently sixth in the table, and a victory tonight could see them moving up to the third spot.
"The group is very, very strong. There's a real good feeling in there. Everybody is fit and available, so your Yohan Cabayes and Colos (Fabricio Coloccini) can look around and see quality. We've got a strength in depth that we didn't have when we finished fifth two years ago. I'm just really proud of the players. I think they should be very proud of themselves in terms of their work ethic," said Toon manager Alan Pardew.
Swansea, on the other hand, are not enjoying the best of forms, managing just one win from their last six matches in all competitions. The Welsh outfit has dropped to 13th in the league, though they can break into the top half of the table again, by beating Newcastle tonight.
And with a fixture against fellow strugglers Norwich City set to follow at the weekend, Swans boss Michael Laudrup knows the importance of this period.
"We have 15 points. If we can get to 19 or 21 points in the next few days that will be great and we will still have four games to get more points in the first half of the season. Of course if we can get six points from these two games then great, but if we don't get them here and we win at Norwich, I will take that as well. I would like to win at home every time but at the end of the day it's about points," Laudrup pointed out.
Team News
Swansea: Forwards Michu (ankle), Wilfried Bony (hamstring) and defenders Angel Rangel and Gary Monk (knee) remain sidelined for Swans, but first-choice stopper Michel Vorm (knee) and veteran midfielder Leon Britton (toe) are back in contention.
Newcastle: Pardew has no fresh injury problems going into this game, with wing back Ryan Taylor (knee) being the only sidelined first-team player.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 1.15 am IST start on Thursday morning, with no live telecast in India. But you can catch the match via live streaming by clicking HERE. To watch the action in the U.S., click HERE. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can click HERE.
Expected lineups
Swansea: Vorm; Tiendalli, Chico, Williams, Davies; Canas, de Guzman; Pozuelo, Shelvey, Hernandez; Vazquez
Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Sissoko, Tiote, Cabaye, Gouffran; Shola Ameobi, Remy
Prediction: 1-1
