Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur clash in the Carabao Cup tonight at St James' Park with an 8 pm kick-off live on ITV and Sky Sports.
The holders, Newcastle, will be hoping to progress at the expense of Spurs in a bid to become the first side to retain the cup since Manchester City won it four times in a row from 2017/2018 to 2020/2021.
Spurs won't roll over and make it easy for Newcastle, though, with more Premier League sides treating the cup with respect these days.
It's a hard game to call, which is why we'll leave the predictions to the pundits.
Joe Cole thinks Newcastle will edge it against Tottenham
Joe Cole has made his prediction to Paddy Power (via The Mag) and he's expecting a home win under the lights at St James' Park.
“I’m just coming down on Newcastle to win against Tottenham.
“I watched both first hand in Europe recently and I just feel that Newcastle are a bit stronger in terms of depth.
“Sandro Tonali, for example, didn’t play at the weekend and it’ll be buzzing as it always is at St James’ Park.
“Don’t forget they’re the holders of this so I fancy them to win 2-1.
“Newcastle to win and both teams to score…”
We don't care how we do it as long as we're in that draw tonight
We'd happily take a 2-1 win, or a 1-0 win, a win on penalties, whatever it takes to keep the cup dream alive.
The wins against Benfica and Fulham should have us brimming with confidence, but that performance against Fulham, especially the middle of the game, has us worried, as does Spurs' win at the weekend against Everton.
It really could go either way, which is why we hope Joe Cole's prediction of a buzzing St James' Park comes true. Carabao Cup fixtures can often produce flat atmospheres, but here's hoping this is the exception tonight.
HOWAY EDDIE HOWE'S LEAGUE CUP-LOVING MAGS!