Rufus Brevett returns from suspension and is likely to replace Chris Cohen, while Sergei Rebrov and Luke Chadwick battle it out for a place on the right.
"We have thrown Sergei Rebrov in at the deep end and he is still getting up to speed," says Alan Pardew.
"Luke's game is all about passing and moving and he has already shown us flashes of what he can do."
With Christian Dailly missing, the back four must be reshuffled; one option is to move Hayden Mullins into it.
"It is unfortunate for Hayden Mullins that he has been shifted around but he had only one indifferent game for us, in the playoff final, and we have to accept he could end up in all sorts of places," says Alan.
SQUAD: Bywater, Walker, Repka, Brevett, Melville, Ferdinand, Carrick, Sheringham, Harewood, Zamora, Etherington, Cohen, Rebrov, Chadwick, Mullins, Reo-Coker, Noble, Lomas, Nowland.