Newcastle United face Cambridge United in The Emirates FA Cup Third Round at St James' Park on Saturday looking to advance into the fourth round of football's oldest & most traditional Cup competition as the race for Wembley and glory begins for the top teams in English football for another year.

Newcastle unveiled England international defender Kieran Trippier as the first signing of the new Saudi Arabia-led consortium and he was registered in time ahead of the game to potentially make his debut in front of a sell-out 52,000 capacity crowd:

and soon joined his new team-mates for his first training-session:

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe welcomes a player he has signed before to the club and then immediately reflected on the need for a professional approach to the upcoming FA Cup tie against Cambridge and the need to win the game no matter what:

The Magpies have played EFL League One opposition several times in recent seasons, overcoming Cambridge's university rivals Oxford United at the second attempt thanks to Allan Saint-Maximin's winner at The Kassam Stadium in January 2020 under Steve Bruce's managerial guidance yet a 0-3 loss to The U's in 2016 under Rafa Benitez should serve as warning of the dangers in taking lower League teams in the Cup too lightly.

Bruce, who was the first Newcastle Manager to guide the great Geordie club to the Quarter-Final stage of both FA and League Cups since Sir Bobby Robson, also masterminded a 7-0 thrashing of Morecambe from League One starring current man of the moment Brazilian Joelinton who scored twice.

and its up to Eddie Howe to keep this conquering run over lower League minnows going.

Newcastle, having endured a string of horrendous refereeing decisions this season and complained to the football authorities about the decisions...

would do well to be on guard for VAR Simon Hooper, who has had terrible performances as the man in the middle during Magpies games in the past including denying two clear penalty kicks for handball on the opening day of the Championship season against Fulham in the summer of 2016 in an undeserved 1-0 defeat and Hooper was also the VAR in the controversial Newcastle defeat at Liverpool before Christmas:

Cambridge are currently 16th in The EFL League One just five points above the drop zone to League Two yet the chance of a lifetime to giant-kill Newcastle, the joint 9th most successful team in The FA Cup's history, is the prize and it would be double the scalp now The Magpies are the richest club in world football since the takeover.

For Cambridge its a free hit playing at a great stadium in front of 52,000 fans without the pressure of expectation and U's striker Joe Ironside revealed he idolised Newcastle's legendary no.9 Alan Shearer growing up even wearing Shearer strips and watching him playing at St. James' Park against Sheff Wednesday despite being a Sheff United fan:

Cambridge boss Mark Bonner will be hoping to replicate his first game as permanent manager of The U's when his team won 1-0 at Birmingham City in The Carabao Cup in September 2020 in a game that was also then-Blues Manager Aitor Karanka's first game in charge of The Championship club although the task will be harder than it was in the behind-closed-doors fan-free St Andrews compared to a 52,000 capacity St James':

Eddie Howe's task is to field an eleven who can do the job comfortably and go through to the next round while not jeopardizing the far more important Premier League game against Watford at St James' Park a week hence on Saturday, January 15th.

Newcastle, like Cambridge who haven't played a first team game since December 18th, have had an enforced rest of sorts having had to postpone two Premier League games, against Everton and Southampton, since drawing 1-1 with Man United on December 27th and losing half a squad of players to Covid-19 on top of injuries to key players Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin and an operation on Issac Hayden.

Yet Howe will undoubtedly rely on a largely second string side with Premier League survival Newcastle's overriding aim this season and there may be a first home starts for young midfielder Joe White and forward Eliot Anderson as well as run outs for fringe squad men Dwight Gayle, Jeff Hendrick and possibly Geordie goalkeeper Mark Gillespie.

It will be a poignant day for many Newcastle fans following the sudden death of huge Newcastle fan and NUFC Fans' FoodBank volunteer, David Harrison, a genial Geordie grandfather who was a popular and inspirational member of the #NUFC community, in whose memory the MatchDay FoodBank at St James' Park on Saturday is dedicated.

A 52,000 capacity crowd with many tickets sold to non season ticket holders will include many who haven't seen The Magpies play live for a long time and Howe's men will surely have enough to provide the inspiration and victory to be in the 4th Round hat.

Prediction - Newcastle 3 Cambridge 1

Potential Line-Ups: