The Toon Army face one of the biggest games of their recent history when league leaders Manchester City come to town on Sunday afternoon. With Papiss Cisse's heroics against Chelsea in midweek putting Newcastle's Champions League hopes back on track, Alan Pardew's boys will need to follow that up against the title hopefuls.
It might seem like an impossible task to overturn one of the strongest squads in Europe but its not. Dare I mention that the unnamable team from Wearside did just that very thing back on New Years Day. Although their squad is full of quality, they are in unfamiliar territory and we have seen that when attacked they can crumble.
It is not to be forgotten that our squad is brimming with talent too, with the front three of Ba, Cisse and Ben Arfa causing many teams problems this season. It will be important for Pardew to get his tactics right on the day and I for one feel that sitting back and inviting pressure is not the way to play.
Newcastle have been at their best this season when attacking teams and hunting in packs, with the 3-0 victory over Manchester United being a prime example of that, and the same performance is what will be needed if we harbour any thoughts of a surprise victory.
The truth is that if the manager, team and fans such as you and I want to be considered a team that can challenge in the Champions League places, then matches such as Sunday we need to win. It will be a tough test, but its the type of quality that we would be facing game in, game out in Europe's elite.
It all points to what will be an extremely nervy, yet exciting spectacle for the Premier League and I for one will watching on the edge of my seat.
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