It looks like Newcastle will have a fairly strong squad to choose from when they face us Monday night in the pivotal Premier League clash.
The only confirmed absentee is Sean Longstaff, however, they are keeping an eye on at least three players that picked up knocks in the international break.
They are Miguel Almiron, DeAndre Yedlin and Jamaal Lascelles. though all three are expected to be fit for selection.
It should also be noted that Fabian Schar is out through suspension.
In terms of team selection, popular Newcastle blog Nothing but Newcastle reckons that this would be their strongest line up to face us.
Dubravka
Ritchie
Dummett
Lascelle
Lejuene
Yedlin
Shelvey
Hayden
Muto
Almiron
Rondon
The formation is likely to be 5-2-2-1
For his part, Benitez, while speaking about getting to safety in the league, said that he sees the game against us as one that they can win and will treat it like a cup final
He said: ‘If you see what Arsenal are doing, they are doing really well, so we cannot expect that it will be an easy game.
‘If we can do what we have to do and can get three points, then it depends on the others. But some of the other teams have got some points, so it’s not that you can say, “Now 37 is guaranteed”, it depends what they do.
‘We have now 35 and we are fine, but still we have to win. For me, one game could be enough, but you never know, it depends on the other teams.
‘I had a conversation before with my staff and we were taking about that. We’ll just carry on.
‘The next game is the most important for us, it’s like a final for us and don’t think about what the others will do.’
One thing is for sure, Newcastle will not be easy to beat, they will be determined, focused and hard to break down but as long as we play to our own strengths, we will win.