Ketsbaia

Honestly? I think I'd say Sunderland.

We've been alright but I'm worried. Very worried

Mackems playing Kilgallon in defence against Chelsea. Could be fun!

Berbatov isolated up front is good news. He's not quick, whereas him being in the hole might cause problems.

Pardew being a cocktease.

Nice to see theres not a Perch or a Tiote. Lets go for this.

Anita looks in. At least Tiote isnt playing. Hatem on the bench would be lovely.

Ben Arfa? Oh my.

Absolutely bricking it tbh, this is massive. With a week of rest I'd be confident that the players will be up for it and show the desire to win. But my 2 fears are Pardew and how tired we might be.

I like the sound of this Montanier but none of these candidates stand out. Especially Martin Jol (he says, as theyre about to play Fulham )

Get him back for the derby and he'll rise to the occasion. We desperately need him back.

Villa arent going down anymore Between us, mackems, Stoke & Wigan for that one spot. Absolutely bricking it.

Same.

Another set of bad results. We're deep, deep in this - especially if we dont beat Fulham.

Stoke vs Villa today will be interesting. A draw keeps them both in the scrap but I think I'd rather Stoke just win tbh.

Sky Sports Years 1999 put highlights of a violent Old Firm derby to the sound of Britney Spears - Hit Me Baby One More Time So surreal.

There's a film on Five right now called 'McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty?' I think Brian misheard the news but oh well.

Van Persie

What we really need today is good news regarding Hatem.

High line and stick someone on Berbatov, hopefully that nullifies him. Our lot will be tiring, so if we do win we'll scrape it. Not looking forward to this at all.

Messi-Ameobi swap (source: me)

Deflating defeat tonight - it's frustrating to see a gameplan work, only to be undone by two silly mistakes. Make no mistake, Benfica deserved the win but it doesn't necessarily mean they would have. A few players were anonymous tonight but I was impressed with Cisse, Sissoko and Marveaux. Krul had a few nervy moments and could be blamed for the 1st - I personally don't think MYM was at fault. We started off in a non-Pardew way, which made us look threatening and purposeful. Then we had some terrible luck with hitting the post, which turned the game. Santon had a catastrophic moment which may turn out to be pivotal, as well as Taylor repeating his sniper routine. It felt great to be back in a european quarter-final, in a great stadium and against a great european name. Nights like this are what it's all about. We've got the final (probably) one next Thursday at SJP and I reckon the atmosphere will be spectacular. 2-0 can be done, without doubt, and maybe this deficit will force us to loosen the shackles. Maybe we'll play like we should do. With a bit of belief, a bit of quality and a great Geordie crowd behind them, I wouldn't like to bet against us. But we really need to beat Fulham first.

Krul Santon Taylor Yanga-Mbiwa Haidara Anita Cabaye Sissoko Marveaux Gouffran Cisse We don't need a Tiote for Fulham, just play Anita. Out of the rest, I just hope Cisse, Sissoko and Cabaye aren't too tired from tonight.

On the replays he did. A quick one but just enough to see a red shirt. I was confused as to why he played it anyway.

Thought he played well tonight, I love it when he runs whilst all the defenders bounce off him. He'd be great at 'The Gauntlet' in Gladiators!