Poyet: Hoping for a cup upset

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Brighton v Newcastle

Brighton will be eyeing a giant killing act when they entertain Newcastle in an FA Cup fourth-round match at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Gus Poyet’s Championship side booked their place against the Premier League high-flyers in a not-too-convincing fashion, needing a replay and then penalties to overcome Blue Square Bet Premier side Wrexham.

The Magpies left it late in their third-round affair, scoring deep in injury time to secure a 2-1 win over Blackburn.

Brighton winger Kazenga LuaLua is in line to return from a hamstring injury to face his former employers, following his signing for the South Coast side in November.

The Seagulls’ Spanish midfielder Vicente Rodriguez is back in the mix after a thigh injury which has left him side-lined since October, while winger Craig Noone could also feature after overcoming a hamstring injury.

Full-back Marcos Painter is not so lucky - he misses out after a hamstring injury flared up again, just six minutes into his comeback at Peterborough last Saturday.

For the visitors, skipper Fabricio Coloccini is doubtful after he went down with a groin injury on Thursday, although it is possible the centre-back may still play.

Defender Steven Taylor (Achilles) and midfielders Sylvain Marveaux (groin) and Sammy Ameobi (knee) are still sidelined with their respective injuries.

Toon boss Alan Pardew is still be without Senegalese strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, but the duo will be back early next week after their country crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Newcastle’s most recent result was a 5-2 loss to Fulham in the Premier League, while Brighton come into the game on the back of three successive league victories.