Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is ready to give Mehdi Abeid his chance in the Carling Cup against Blackburn Rovers tonight.

Toon will call on France youth international Abeid for their Carling Cup fourth-round tie with Blackburn on Wednesday night after Cheik Tiote was ruled out.

Tiote injured a knee in the 1-0 win over Wigan in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, causing him to miss the trip to Rovers and making him a doubt for Monday's match at Stoke City.