Alan Pardew's side will be looking to take a first-leg lead back to St James' Park but will have to work hard against Guus Hiddink's high-flyers
Anzhi have no new injury worries and go into the game with a full squad of players to choose from, with superstars such as Willian, Samuel Eto'o and Lassana Diarra all set to play from the start.
Newcastle could welcome back Hatem Ben Arfa (hamstring), but Fabricio Coloccini (back) has been ruled out by manager Alan Pardew while Papiss Cisse was not part of the 19-man squad.
Ryan Taylor (knee) is close to recovery, however he is unlikely to return to action until the end of the month.
Tim Krul (ankle) remains on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the last round against Metalist Kharkiv and Steve Harper's absence with a knee injury means Rob Elliot will continue in goal.
Did you know.
- Newcastle have faced Anzhi star Samuel Eto'o in European competition before, the Cameroonian was part of the Real Mallorca side that suffered a 7-1 aggregate Uefa Cup loss to the Magpies in 2004.
- The Magpies have beaten a Guus Hiddink side in the past, as they overcame PSV Eindhoven over two legs in the quarter-finals of the 2003-04 Uefa Cup before losing to Marseille in the next round.
Anzhi
GK - V.Gabulov
DEF - A.Eshchenko - Joao Carlos - Ewerton - Y.Zhirkov
MID - M.Boussoufa - O.Akhmedov - Jucilei - L.Diarra - Willian
STR - S.Eto'o
Newcastle
GK - R.Elliot
DEF - J.Perch - S.Taylor - M.Yanga-Mbiwa - D.Santon
MID - S.Marveaux - V.Anita - M.Sissoko - Y.Cabaye - J.Gutierrez
STR - Shola Ameobi
Source: DSG
