Lineups Vs. Stoke: Downing The Potters On Boxing Day

It's the midst of the festive period, and now the matches are coming thick and fast. (Cliche quota fulfilled.) Whether Alan Pardew wanted to make changes to his lineup or not, he's being forced into rotating players because of certain stars' fondness for yellow cards. Tomorrow, it will be Cheick Tioté getting a mandatory day off. How will the manager fill the hole in the midfield?

As always, I'll explain why I want Newcastle to line up in this particular fashion. And today, I think Pardew and I are on the same wavelength - no "predicted XI" necessary!

Keeper and back four: Tim Krul, Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon

In the span of a couple of months, Newcastle's defense has gone from a real problem area, with an out-of-form keeper and a lot of question marks in front of him, to a source of strength, just as it was two years ago. Williamson is doing his best to end up on a plane to Brazil over the summer, and Debuchy deserves serious consideration for the Premier League Team of the Year if he keeps this up. With three matches in quick succession, I'd like to see Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Massadio Haïdara given chances to play, but neutralizing the towering Peter Crouch might not be the best opportunity.

Midfield: Moussa Sissoko, Vurnon Anita, Yohan Cabaye

While Sissoko is being moved out of his right wing position in the absence of Tioté, he should line up as the right-most central midfielder in order to capitalize on his partnership with Debuchy. That duo has been an absolute nightmare for teams to deal with, and by keeping him relatively close to the right back in the formation, hopefully Newcastle should still be able to reap the rewards. Sissoko has spent a lot of his time tucked into the center of the field anyway over the last few weeks, because Debuchy has been able to control the entire left flank on his own for long stretches of matches.

Cabaye's reemergence has made all the difference in the midfield. I don't know whether it was his injuries, mental health, general lack of fitness, or all of the above, but he was shockingly immobile and passive last season, and it created problems which resonated throughout the team. Now, I'd really like to see how much ground he covers in a given match. Against Crystal Palace on Saturday, I saw him as the furthest player forward, pressing the opposing center backs into mistakes, as a trailing runner into the box for his goal, on the wings dictating play and firing crosses into the box, and back around the Newcastle penalty area helping break up attacks. To have a player do all that, and do it well, is really fun to watch.

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa, Loïc Rémy, Yoan Gouffran

Essentially, the big decision Pardew has tomorrow is whether to revert to the 4-4-2 and start Shola Ameobi, or keep the same shape as last week and play Ben Arfa instead. My preference is to use Shola in matches where his physical style contrasts the opposition - in other words, play him against finesse teams instead of bruising ones.

While Stoke is not the Stone Age-level club it was under Tony Pulis, I think Ben Arfa's skill is more likely to open up its defense than Shola's strength. Obviously, Ben Arfa's defensive work will always be an issue, but with Sissoko able to cover him to some degree, and Debuchy also in excellent form, hopefully the right flank will be protected well enough. Starting Ben Arfa also sets up a potential Shola start against Arsenal this weekend, in a match where Rémy might need a bit of a break. It's just an idea, but it seems like a reasonable one to me.