CHN Links: Gameday Edition

Good morning, Toon Army. The International Break is over! Match previews and last minute news after the jump.

This is a prank, right?
Photo courtesy of football.co.uk, no credit listed

Match Previews:
Sky Sports predicts a "fiery encounter" and a 1-1 tie.
The Guardian does not make a prediction, but they see Nolan and Ameobi playing up front with Carroll nowhere to be found.
BBC Sports focuses on Newcastle's home record and does not make a prediction.
Martin Lipton of MirrorFootball continues his tradition of picking against The Magpies.
The Sun gives a brief summary of which players are injured...and that's about it.
toonsy of nufcblog.org calls for Lovenkrands to get some playing time and predicts a 2-0 win. As always, he has a primer on our opponent that's worth a look.
Ed Harrison of nufcblog.com focuses on selection and ultimately settles on Ameobi up front in the 4-4-1-1.
Watch for our preview coming any minute now.

News:
Andy Carroll wants to celebrate signing his new contract by scoring a goal against The Latics. I believe I would be okay with that. (Lee Ryder, The Chronicle)

In advance of today's match in which Newcastle are heavily favored by the betting lines, Chris Hughton warned Newcastle fans that this season will be a roller coaster of emotions. I think most of us have figured that out already, but we'll gladly take the expected result this week. (MirrorFootball)

James Perch has been nicknamed "Chopper" by his teammates because of his disciplinary troubles. He hopes to quell his quickly developing reputation as a questionable player. (Simon Bird, MirrorFootball)

Argentine Jonas Gutierrez has gained inspiration from the rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners. (Lee Ryder, The Chronicle)

Holland was eliminated from the U-21 European Championships this week despite a good performance from captain Tim Krul. (Lee Ryder, The Chronicle)

Roberto Mancini has this to say: "I am very disappointed with the people who spoke about Nigel de Jong's tackle." You know who is really the victim here? Nigel de Jong. What a martyr he is. (Ben Collins, Sky Sports)