Newcastle United travel to Staffordshire to take on Stoke City in the two sides' sixth Premier League fixture of the season.
Newcastle have had a very poor start to the 2014/15 Premier League campaign as they are currently sitting in 19th place, having failed to register a single win this season.
Despite spending a considerable sum of money on the transfers of Siem de Jong (Ajax), Remy Cabella (Montpellier), Emmanuel Rivière (Monaco) and Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), the Magpies have failed to gel as a squad, and this has led to some disappointing results.
The fans are clearly against manager Alan Pardew, and the 53-year-old will be desperate for a win at Stoke as he looks to keep his head above the rising waterline.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley recently stated that Pardew would be sacked if he lost at Stoke, but later his lawyers claimed that he was joking.
Despite all the pressure, the Newcastle boss says that he is just concentrating on the next fixture.
"I'm carrying some scars and I've been under pressure at this club for a number of weeks now but all I can focus on now is the team," Pardew told the Guardian. "The focus for me really can only be on Monday night.
"We're very conscious we haven't had a win but it's not a boxing match, so we can't just fight our way to victory.
"We've got to get the right balance between having enough fight and being relaxed to play enough good football."
Meanwhile, Stoke boss Mark Hughes is also under a bit of pressure this season as the Potters are currently sitting in the 16th position in the Premier League despite recently beating Manchester City at the Etihad.
Although they have been very good on the road, their traditionally strong home form has wavered this season.
While they have managed to beat Manchester City and draw against Hull City and Queens Park Rangers in their away games this season, they have suffered defeats in both their home fixtures against Aston Villa and Leicester City.
Still, Hughes is confident that the Britannia Stadium will be a fortress for Stoke as the season progresses.
"The Britannia is still a tough place to come," Hughes told Sky News."We're aware teams will probably set up a little bit differently than they have in the past. Teams have come thinking they can have a real go at us and we've got to be able to deal with that.
"With the quality we've got there's no reason why we can't, so we're not too concerned with the home form. We all feel it will resolve itself very, very quickly. It is only a matter of time."
Team News: Newcastle United: Mehdi Abeid is unavaible for this fixture as he is serving a suspension for being sent off during Newcastle's Capital One Cup win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Defender Davide Santon (ankle) and midfielders Siem de Jong (thigh) and Rolando Aarons (hamstring) are also unavailable for this game as they are they are still recovering from their respective injuries.
Fullback Janmaat, who picked up a muscle strain at Selhurst Park, will go through a late fitness test ahead of this game.
On a brighter note, Tim Krul, Yoan Gouffran and Papiss Cissé are expected to feature against Stoke after missing out during the Magpies' triumph against Crystal Palace in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
Stoke City: Hughes has a pretty decent squad to choose from, with midfielder Jonathan Walters, who is suffering from a calf problem, a doubt for this game
Long-term absentees Geoff Cameron and Peter Odemwingie, though, remain sidelined.
Expected lineups: Newcastle: Tim Krul; Daryl Janmaat, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Paul Dummett; Jack Colback, Cheick Tioté, Remy Cabella, Moussa Sissoko; Emmanuel Rivière, Papiss Cissé.
Stoke: AsmirBegovic; Phil Bardsley, Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson, Erik Pieters; Glenn Whelan, Steven N'Zonzi; Mame Biram Diouf, Charlie Adam, Victor Moses; Peter Crouch.
Where to Watch Live
The match is set for an 8.00 pm BST (12.30 am IST, 3 pm ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD2 in India. The game can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Star Sports online. TV coverage in the UK will be on Sky Sports 1, with the option to Live Stream available via the Sky Go or Sky Sports Online. Viewers in the UK can also listen to the match via radio on TalkSport or on the website. Catch the action in the US on TV on NBC Sports, while the game can also be Live Streamed online on NBC Sports Extra.
Australia viewers can Live Stream the action Fox Sports On Demand, while viewers in Canada can do the same TSN Go. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match via Live Streaming online courtesy Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same via SuperSport online.
