Brian McDermott has a selection decision to make on the right flank. Sam Byram is pushing for a start and there are a couple of options. The obvious one is to replace Lee Peltier at right back-however, there is a good chance that he will come in at right midfield to replace the disappointing Jimmy Kebbe. McDermott has spoken at length this week about Kebbe's performances, stating that his stats on prozone are impressive-with him leading the way on amount of running. They say that stats don't lie, but in this case they certainly distort the truth. Kebbe hasn't been brought in to cover the most amount of ground-he is here to hurt the opposition in the final third-something he is more than capable of. At the moment, apart from a few brief glimpses, he's flattered to deceive-the second half against Huddersfield, our last home game was his most impressive.
McDermott must decide whether to continue to back the on loan winger, or take him out of the firing line-as he could certainly do some damage from the bench.
The rest of the team is expected to be unchanged, with Jack Butland and Connor Wickham making their home debuts.
Full team news at around 2.00..