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Under-21s' Televised Test At The Britannia
Written by Newcastle Utd
Ryan Taylor is included in the Newcastle United under-21 squad to face Stoke City - a game which will be screened live by Sky Sports on Thursday night
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Newcastle's Barclays Under-21 Premier League clash at Stoke City on Thursday night is live on Sky Sports 2 (kick-off 7pm).
And while it will be a first taste of the limelight for some of Peter Beardsley's youngsters, a handful of players with senior experience are included in the Magpies' second-string squad at the Britannia Stadium.
Ryan Taylor - who starred in United's Capital One Cup win at Manchester City and made a late cameo at West Bromwich Albion last weekend - will play as he looks to get more minutes under his belt, having been sidelined for more than two years until his return at the Etihad Stadium last month.
Gael Bigirimana and Adam Campbell will also make the trip to the Potteries along with Haris Vuckic, who has been in particularly good form for United's under-21s in recent weeks.
"I want to play in the first team and under-21 games only help you to show the manager that you can play for the first team, so I just want to score goals and show the manager I can play in the Premier League," he told premierleague.com ahead of the match.
Promising teenagers like Callum Roberts, Daniel Barlaser and Liam Gibson may be familiar to nufcTV subscribers, but performing in front of the Sky Sports cameras will be a new test and Vuckic said: "A lot of youngsters didn't have cameras five metres in front of them, so it's going to be good experience for them.
"Sometimes if you play in an under-21 game in a training ground, it's not such a good atmosphere like it is in stadiums. Our last game (a 5-0 win over Aston Villa) was in St. James' Park. It's totally different playing in the stadium instead of the training ground."
As if the game being on live television was not a big enough incentive, Newcastle can move above Arsenal to top the second division with a win or a draw.
The Gunners are currently a point above Beardsley's boys, having played a game more.
Admission at the Britannia Stadium is £2 for adults and £1 concessions and - as with every one of Newcastle's Barclays Under-21 Premier League matches - there will highlights and reaction on nufcTV.