Newcastle v FC Anzhi Makhachkala – Europa League match preview

Who will be the winner?
Who will be the winner?
A place in the Quarter Finals of the Europa League is on offer tomorrow as Newcastle and Anzhi Makhachkala play out the second leg of their Round of 16 encounter.

United managed to come away from Moscow with a creditable 0-0 draw and became the first team to prevent Anzhi scoring on home (wherever home has been) soil in this competition, and also the first team to avoid defeat at Anzhi in the Europa League this term. They have been strong in Europe this season and have have scored plenty of goals, so to stop them from scoring is major plus for us.

However 0-0 is a dangerous scoreline and whilst we can be happy with our efforts in Moscow we must also be mindful that the job is not done and there is still significant potential for us to be eliminated from the competition, not least when you consider away goals. A goal for Anzhi would mean we’d need to score two to go through so you can see the danger that away goals represent to us.

Newcastle:

Yoan Gouffran and Mathieu Debuchy are ineligible for this competition so will miss out, as will Haris Vuckic and Ryan Taylor who both remained sidelined through injury. Fabricio Coloccini is also out and is currently swanning around Argentina attending San Lorenzo games according to reports, as you can see here whilst Tim Krul remains absent with an ankle problem.

As yet news is awaited regarding the availability of Hatem Ben Arfa and Shola Ameobi, both of whom missed the weekend victory over Stoke, but otherwise Alan Pardew has a strong squad to choose from.

FC Anzhi Makhachkala:

Striker Mbark Boussoufa can once again be considered for selection after sitting out the first leg through suspension. However one player who did play in the first leg but is unavailable now is Willian, who picked up a hamstring injury against us and is ruled out of the game tomorrow.

Previously…

This is the first time that Anzhi will have visited St James’ Park. In fact it is the first time that any Russian side has visited St James’ Park although we’ve had visiting sides from the USSR on Tyneside for friendly matches previously.

Both teams played on Sunday so neither side will have had a longer rest than the other, with United beating Stoke 2-1 at SJP and Anzhi suffering a 2-0 defeat away at Mordovia Sarasnk on their return to domestic action.

Match stats and facts:

Mike Williamson is still waiting to make his 100th appearance for United. One day I might be able to stop writing this particular fact.

Shola Ameobi, if fit, will be looking for his 16th European goal for United and, if played, will make his 50th European appearance for the club.

This will be our 132nd European game. To date we’ve won 73 games, lost 30 and drawn the other 28 matches.

Final thought…

My final thought is simply “go for it” when talking about this game.

At the end of the day we’re here so we why not try and win it? We’re picking up league points now and whilst we’re still not out of the relegation woods the odds of us going down are decreasing each week, as are the odds of us finishing any higher than tenth in the table. Dare I say it but, other than pride, is this the only thing really left to play for? And has it turned from being an inconvenience to a welcome distraction? It has for me…

Howay the lads!

Date: Thursday, 14th March, 2013

Time: 8:05pm – Live on ESPN

Venue: St James’ Park

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

30 thoughts on “Newcastle v FC Anzhi Makhachkala – Europa League match preview

  1. Good post Toonsy,think its going to be tough but think we can do it,be nice to stay in the cup for a bit longer,as you say though an away goal could put the tie out of reach so lets hope we are up and at em as soon as the whistle goes.They are a quality side but we have shown we can match tames in that department so lets giv e it our best shot…Howay The Lads 😉 😉 😉 😉

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  2. we cannot keep eto’o and traore quiet over 180 min, can we? so concur with u. we should go for it. that may mean outscoring them…2-1 seems a decent score line for me.Playing jonas a bit advanced would help, as he would win free kicks. The axis of mousa, cabaye and ben arfa if forms the basis of our attack, we can score some goals, even with a misfiring cisse.

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  3. I just hope Pardew dosent come out and say ” we’re going to give it a good go and try to win it” which all toon fans know means , he’s going to play the reserves and kids!! Hope not , as I believe we can win this game, then luck of the draw , anything can happen

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  4. This is an emmensely difficult game of football against a vastly experienced coach and team. Yes we have home advantage and the result we took from their place was fantastic. We have every chance of winning this game and progressing but personally, I’d still have Angie as slight favourites.
    We have the players capable of winning this game but I think some people’s expectation levels need to be kept in check. I think it is going to be a very cagey closely fought contest which could even be decided by a refereeing decision or worst still – penos!!

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  5. Good preview Toonsy, and I can’t wait for the game.
    Yeah if they score an away goal it makes it a harder job, but then they couldn’t score 1st time around so I expect us to take home advantage.
    As long as we play as strong a team as last time only I would do away with Oba and play Cisse.

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  6. Slightly off topic but has anyone got a Wigan ticket going for Sunday? Could really do with one! Cheers 😉

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  7. Please Pards just bring Willo on in the 94th minute (if we are winning by 2 clear goals) so Toonsy has to go out and find a new stat! Hahaha

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  8. Haha I’d be happy for him to get 100 appearances to be fair even if it came as a last minute sub in a game we’re cruising in

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  9. May as well go all out for it, I really don’t care where we finish this year now, not fussed about finishing over the scum as long as we batter em 😀 2 wins and we’re safe, but like I said at the start of the season, winning the EL and finishing 17th would still be our most successful season in yonks as far as I’m concerned. Long way to go yet and Spurs look favorites, but if Bale gets injured we’ve got a shot, play the first team (of what is avaliable) against Anzhi and see what happens-Marv behind Cisse with Sissoko alongside Cabaye anyone? Could be a good chance to experiment for the league…

    Oh, and glad Colo is enjoying himself 🙄

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  10. @Newkie
    I don’t doubt the injury, but I think there’s a chance they exaggarated the recovery time and allowed him to take the chance to try and reconcile with his missus.
    Pretty opportunistic, but if it means he’s back playing for us next year, and happy about it, then it’s worthwhile.
    We’re almost safe now anyway, so he’s not needed as massively as he was in January

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  11. Congrats to Shola!
    Despite what anyone (JJ) says you can’t argue with a goal every three games in Europe. 😉
    As with other players like Obertan etc, if they’re good enough for Europa League, then they are good enough for our squad imo.

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  12. ST – I really hope that Pardew and the board don’t agree with you mate. A goal every 3 games is impressive but when you consider they are usually against teams that finished 3-4 in the Romanian or Ukranian league, it’s hardly stiff competition. As for Obertan, we’ll never mount a regular or serious challenge for the top 4-5 if we have to keep relying on players like Shola, Obertan or Williamson. They just aren’t good enough IMO and prove it on a regular basis.

    Ice – I think you may be right mate, I think Benny has either done his hamstring again or maybe Pardew is trying to keep him fresh for the ‘more difficult’ games approaching – that may just be wishful thinking though 🙄

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  13. SHARPY nowt wrong with wishful thinking mate,I see Marv has the most assist than any other player in club (6) not bad for the amount of time on pitch imo

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  14. The management of Benny’s injury is turning into the ridiculous. They’re now having his hamstring checked by a specialist. NOW! Three months after he did it!!! The words amateur and idiots come to mind. Furious!

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  15. <<<<<< thinks we got a great chance in this match, Willian being out is great news for us

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  16. Long time, no talk fellas.

    I’d like to see Marv start this one, especially with HBA unavailable (AGAIN!). Would really love to see just absolutely go for it with a good ol 442 actually.
    Santon – Taylor – MYM – Haidara
    Marv – Cabaye – Tiote – Jonas
    then Shola & Cisse

    That gives us Obertan to run at them in the last 20 minutes if we still need something, Anita to go into CM if we need to creat more, and also Bigi and Simpson if we need to hold onto a win. Campbell will obviously be sat on the bench as well.

    Having said all that, we might see Simpson start…

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  17. Oh *****, I forgot all about Sissoko! 😳

    Put Shola back on the bench and give us the powerhouse behind Cisse!

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  18. haven’t been this excited/nervous about a particular match since the Sporting QF back in 04-05

    that remains one of my most traumatic experiences as an NUFC fan… fingers crossed it goes better tonight

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  19. pardew s gestion of ben arfa is ****…in joke… he can t manage big player and a big club….. 😈 remember clash with masherano. …on the bench… ❗ tevez. ….on the bench…. ❗ he relegate clubs and broke all.aroud him… 😕 what he s do with hatem the best magical fucking player since burdsley 😈 he hate the player instinct and magic like hatem because he s afraid of himself poor **** management. ….newcastleis most bigger for a ficking sheep head like him 👿 why he dont saying i project to sell ben arfa for liverpool…. 👿 honesty…mr pardew . ❗ PLEASE! !!!!!!

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  20. hatem look very very well better and better ❗ and he can beat makachkala alone! !!!! mr pardew. ..mr lier! ….mr jalousie….!!!!what is ur dark project with hba !!!! :twiste we want to know what s hapened with him ❓ 👿 thanks mr care ❗ how save ur fuckk…head with sissoko re ruitment…cleaning his shoes now. …and get out.with ur bolsheet tactics.. ❗ ❗

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