Team news ahead of tomorrow's clash

By Matthew Jones
November 26 2002

Who is in and out for tomorrow's Champions League clash with Inter Milan. Bellamy i back for the Toon, whey! Fabio Cannavaro has warned Newcastle they will suffer the backlash from Inter Milan's derby defeat, haha! And Inter's Sergio Conceicao and Nelson Vivas are both injured.

Newcastle's Champions League opponents Inter Milan have travelled to England without key men Sergio Conceicao and Nelson Vivas. Portuguese international Sergio Conceicao and former Arsenal defender Vivas, who both started Saturday's 1-0 defeat by derby rivals AC Milan at the San Siro, were not among the 19-strong party which set off for Tyneside.

Conceicao has tendinitis while Argentinian Vivas misses out with a knee problem. However, Sir Bobby Robson's men, who are themselves waiting on the fitness of striker Craig Bellamy, will be more concerned with the men who did board the plane. The 69-year-old knows all about Uruguayan striker Alvaro Recoba after trying to bring him to St James' Park on loan during his early days at the club, while fellow strikers Hernan Crespo and Christian Vieri need no introduction.

Fabio Cannavaro has warned Newcastle they will suffer the backlash from Inter Milan's derby defeat when the two meet in the Champions League.
Inter were beaten 1-0 at the weekend by arch rivals AC Milan, who also took over at the top of Serie A from Hector Cuper's side. However, Cannavaro does not believe that the defeat will affect their chances of overcoming the Magpies on Wednesday, and said: "We will be facing the classic English team, and they will take the game to us and above all try to get down the wings in order to cross for [Alan] Shearer and [Craig] Bellamy.

"We will have to be good to close down space and to give us time on the wings. Even if it is true that against Milan, [Christian] Vieri did not get many crosses, I believe the problem at the moment is in the fact that we do not convert the chances we create.''

At St James' Park, Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy is in line for another big Champions League night after being included in the squad for the clash with Inter. The Welshman, who missed his country's Euro 2004 trip to Azerbaijan last week as he continued his rehabilitation from a knee injury, played at Manchester United on Saturday and could be thrown back in again as United launch their Group A campaign.

Bellamy's fitness is part of a triple boost for manager Sir Bobby Robson, who has Hugo Viana back in contention after a knee ligament problem and Laurent Robert available for the bench, three weeks after fracturing his cheekbone, although full-back Andy Griffin is struggling following a bout of gastro-enteritis over the weekend

Meanwhile, Newcastle starlets Michael Chopra and Richard Offiong are set to pull on England shirts in their native North-East on Wednesday. The United striking duo are expected to start the England Under-20 match against Italy at Sunderland's Stadium of Light ground.