Newcastle United face Middlesbrough in their next Premier League match at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday. A good start to the campaign has seen Sam Allardyce's men collect four points from a possible six, with a 3-1 victory over Bolton on the opening day of the season and the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa last weekend. With a minimum expectation of top half finish, Allardyce will be looking to collect maximum points against other midtable clubs.

Allardyce could field Michael Owen in the starting line up after the striker played nearly 30 minutes of the game against Aston Villa and is set to start for England against Germany. Brazilian defender Cacapa has been declared fit for the season ahead and is expected to start the match against Rozenhal.

Meanwhile Middlesbrough have revealed that a transfer fee has been agreed with Everton for Yakubu and the 24-year-old striker is expected to complete the transfer move by the end of the week. A lucky win against Fulham last weekend provided the first points of the new season.

Goals from Mido and Lee Cattermole saw Middlesbrough come from behind to take the lead in the match. But Fulham should have had equalized through David Healy in the final minutes of the game, but linesman ruled that the ball had not crossed the goal line while the replays showed otherwise.

Middlesbrough had won the fixture last season with a margin of 1-0 but things have changed drastically at Newcastle since the arrival of Sam Allardyce and the visitors start as odds-on favorite to win the match. Watch Middlesbrough v Newcastle United live on free-football.tv.