Demba's Got A "Good Chance"

By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Alan Pardew believes seven-goal leading scorer Demba Ba has a "good chance" of being fit for Sunday's trip to Liverpool.

The Senegalese striker hobbled off midway through the second half of last weekend's 2-1 win over West Brom with shin complaint and hasn't stepped foot on the Magpies' training pitch yet this week.

But Pardew has been encouraged with Ba's progress on the treatment table and he could still feature at Anfield.

"We are okay," said the boss, when asked about his squad's fitness ahead of the Premier League fixture.

"Demba has had a knock and not trained, but we think he has got a good chance so that will come into my thinking a little bit more tomorrow (Saturday). I will know then.

"(If he doesn't make it, then it is ) not significant in terms of results - I still think we can win without Demba."

Cheick Tiote serves the second of his three-game ban, while Ryan Taylor (knee), Haris Vuckic (knee) and Dan Gosling (ankle) all remain sidelined. Goalkeeper Rob Elliot is back in training though, following a recent groin injury.

United have had a full seven days of rest and preparation going into this match, whereas Liverpool played in the fourth round of the Captial One Cup on Wednesday night, being dumped out of the competition by Swansea.

And Pardew is hopeful that Newcastle's extra time off can give them an edge on Merseyside.

"It does help us. At the end of the game I expect us to be fresher," he explained.

"We have struggled this year with a Thursday to Sunday turnover in the Europa League.

"Other teams have been stronger towards the end than us and that is something we are trying to overcome."