Struggling West Brom will aiming for some festive cheer this weekend as they make the long trip to Newcastle.
Slaven Bilic’s team have only racked up one win on their top-flight return and a 5-1 thrashing at Crystal Palace last time out will have dented confidence.
Matheus Pereira is definitely out after he was sent off against Palace with Hal Robson-Kanu and Connor Townsend both ruled out with injury.
Dara O’Shea is likely to replace Branislav Ivanovic in defence with Callum Robinson also in line to make a rare start.
For Newcastle, Steve Bruce’s hand will be forced Covid-19 regulations, with the Magpies squad still decimated by players in self isolation.
Bruce has confirmed he will have to wait until the last minute to name a starting team against the Baggies with up to eight players set to miss out.
But it was not all negative news for Bruce, as key pair Ryan Fraser and Allan Saint-Maximin returned to training this week, and the former Manchester United defender has confirmed they will be included after returning negative Covid-19 tests.
And Kick Off is set for 3pm tomorrow at St. James’ Park
