Hello and welcome to live text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League clash between Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers.

Nice link-up play between Leon Best and Demba Ba almost feeds the former, but Best runs out of room and the ball goes out for a Blackburn goal-kick.

Free-kick chance for Newcastle 30 yards out centrally, but Ryan Taylor fails to clear Blackburn's two-man wall.

Early corner for Newcastle sees Yohan Cabaye drive the ball into the box and Tiote makes contact but it's deflected wide for another corner. The Magpies end up having to take a third and Coloccini is penalised for climbing high from the resulting delivery.

A less than confident header from Steven Taylor back to Tim Krul - the Newcastle 'keeper hesitantly collecting.

And Blackburn Rovers now get us underway at St James Park

Last weekend's positive result over Arsenal has certainly eased the pressure on Blackburn boss Steve Kean, but his team now need to follow that victory up with another strong performance today. That challenge will be made all the more difficult as they take on a Newcastle side very much in-form and unbeaten in all competitions so far this season.

Cloudy skies over St James Park for today's match; lets hope the football manages to brighten up things around Newcastle.

At least Blackburn can call on Jason Roberts from the bench if things take a turn for the worse - the Rovers forward has scored three goals in his last three Premier League matches against Newcastle - and they may well require his services at some point today, as the home team have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League games at St James Park.

Rovers will be buoyed by the fact that they have won in their previous five Premier League visits to St James Park, but the visitors will have to be wary of Magpies striker Leon Best who has netted nine goals in his 12 Premier League starts for Newcastle and is the key spearhead of their attack today.

Blackburn, meanwhile, welcome back Michel Salgado into their starting XI, but are still without David Goodwillie and Morten Gamst Pedersen. Midfielder David Dunn (calf) and defender Ryan Nelsen (knee) remain on Rovers' injury list.

For Newcastle, Hatem Ben Arfa has to settle for a place on the bench after recovering from the broken leg sustained last season. If the winger enters the fray, it will be his first Premier League appearance since last October.. Shola Ameobi misses out with a shoulder problem - the striker joins Davide Santon, Alan Smith, Haris Vuckic and Mike Williamson on the sidelines.

Team News... Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ba, Best. Subs: Harper, Guthrie, Ben Arfa, Lovenkrands, Perch, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi /// Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Dann, Hoilett, Lowe, Nzonzi, Olsson, Formica, Yakubu. Subs: Bunn, Grella, Petrovic, Rochina, Vukcevic, Roberts, Hanley /// Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

There's plenty at stake for two teams currently experiencing vastly different fortunes in the league this season - Newcastle's impressive start has seen the Magpies rise to fourth, while Blackburn only last week managed to climb away from the bottom three following their dramatic 4-3 win over Arsenal. Steve Kean's Rovers will be hoping that this victory wasn't a one-off as they bid to kick-start their season.