Last Updated: Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:27
Newcastle have been boosted by the news Hatem Ben Arfa was on the plane that travelled to Russia for the clash with Anzhi Makhachkala.
Ben Arfa has not figured for the Magpies this year as he has been battling back from injury but he is back in the squad for tomorrow night's Europa League clash and could figure.
Alan Pardew will not want to take any risks especially in a crucial game but the midfielder will be hoping to get some time on the Luzhniki stadium pitch.
Pardew is set to name a strong side and it will be needed as Jonas Gutierrez believes the Magpies are in for a tough night against the big-spending Russians.
"This is going to be a really hard game," he told the Evening Chronicle. "When you go through in this type of competition, you know that any games you play are going to be hard at this stage.
"You also know that, when you go away, it's more difficult. We have to be really compact and we must know that, in the first 20 minutes of the first and second half, they are going to try and score quickly to try and put us on the back foot.
"Their fans are going to want to score quickly, and we need to be prepared for that. The most important thing for us again is to not concede. If we can get an away goal, then we have a big advantage to bring back to Newcastle."
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