Newcastle United's winless home Premier League run was extended to seven matches as they laboured to a 1-1 draw with Swansea City this afternoon.
The Magpies had the better of the chances in the first half, with Ayoze Perez testing Lukasz Fabianski and Dwight Gayle having an effort ruled out for offside.
Jordan Ayew gave the Swans the lead on the hour mark with a header at the second attempt, only for substitute Joselu to equalise for Newcastle eight minutes later.
The bottom-of-the-table visitors to St James' Park nearly snatched victory in stoppage time when Wilfried Bony's shot was cleared off the line by DeAndre Yedlin.
Relive how the action unfolded on Tyneside with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Is it too early to call this a relegation six-pointer? Bottom-of-the-table Swansea City visit 13th place Newcastle who are only two points above the relegation zone despite a good Christmas run. You can follow all of the action in depth with Sports Mole this afternoon, starting with the team news...
NEWCASTLE: Darlow; Yedlin, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett; Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame, Atsu; Perez, Gayle
Subs: Elliot, Manquillo, Haidara, Merino, Hayden, Murphy, Joselu
Subs: Elliot, Manquillo, Haidara, Merino, Hayden, Murphy, Joselu
SWANSEA: Fabianski; Van der Hoorn, Bartley, Mawson, Olsson; Clucas, Carroll, Ki; Dyer, Ayew, McBurnie
Subs: Nordfeldt, Fernandez, Roberts, Roque Mesa, Fer, Narsingh, Bony
Subs: Nordfeldt, Fernandez, Roberts, Roque Mesa, Fer, Narsingh, Bony
Rafael Benitez makes seven changes to the Newcastle side which beat Luton 3-1 in the FA Cup last weekend, with DeAndre Yedlin, Mohamed Diame, Christian Atsu and Karl Darlow all recalled at the expense of Freddie Woodman, Javi Manquillo, Mikel Merino and Jacob Murphy.
Interestingly, goalkeeper Rob Elliot is fit but Darlow keeps his place having deputised against Stoke City in their last Premier League outing. Darlow has been given Benitez's vote of confidence once already this season before being dropped for Elliot, so the pressure is on for him to deliver this time.
The Toon Army will be hoping that Ayoze Perez can continue his recent upturn in goalscoring form. The Spanish forward, who plays in behind Dwight Gayle today, has scored three goals in his last two games for Newcastle in all competitions, more than he managed in his previous 21 appearances.
Diame is given the nod over Isaac Hayden, Henri Saivet and Mikel Merino in central midfield, alongside former Swansea man Jonjo Shelvey. Merino was an early crowd favourite after arriving from Borussia Dortmund but the Spaniard has not had the lasting impact expected of him on Tyneside.
Influential captain Jamaal Lascelles has overcome a knock sustained against Luton to play in the heart of Newcastle's defence, partnered by Ciaran Clark with Florian Lejeune still missing. Jesus Gamez and Aleksander Mitrovic, who have very much been on the fringes anyway, are also injured.
Chancel Mbemba is available again after a knee injury but is not included in the Newcastle squad this afternoon. The Congolese defender has been linked with a move to West Ham United, with Diafra Sakho included in the deal. That would be a swap that would suit the striker-shy Magpies.
The big news from the Swansea camp is that Kyle Bartley returns for his first Premier League start since August, and captains the team with Federico Fernandez demoted to the bench. Carlos Carvalhal reverts to a flat back for after using a three-man defence in his first two games.
There are seven Swansea changes in total from the 0-0 FA Cup draw with Championship leaders Wolves last weekend, and three from the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham in their last top-flight match. Lukasz Fabianski returns in goal and there is a second league start for striker Oliver McBurnie.
Renato Sanches and Tammy Abraham have failed fitness tests this week so do not make the Swansea squad, but Ki Sung-yeung is available after a calf strain and comes into midfield to complement Sam Clucas and Tom Carroll. Dangerman Jordan Ayew seems to have been shifted out wide.
With his red card against Wolves having been rescinded, Leroy Fer is on the bench but continues to find himself out of favour despite the switch from Paul Clement to Carvalhal. The Dutchman scored six league goals last season and would provide a goal threat from midfield the Swans are badly lacking.
One player who is suspended is Kyle Naughton, and with veteran deputy Angel Rangel injured, Mike van der Hoorn is asked to fill in at right-back. That might be an area that Newcastle will look to exploit, with Christian Atsu playing well and with the pace and trickery to trouble the defender.
Wilfried Bony returned from injury against Wolves but Carvalhal apparently does not feel that the Ivorian is ready for Premier League action. Roque Mesa is another big name on the bench having failed to make much of an impression since his £11m arrival from Las Palmas in the summer.
Did Swansea sign the wrong Las Palmas midfielder? Newcastle are believed to be targeting Mesa's former teammate Jonathan Viera, who is the most creative player in La Liga with an average of 2.9 key passes per game. Uncertainty over the club's ownership is stalling any potential move, though.
It must be incredibly frustrating for Benitez to still not know his January budget, with Mike Ashley having yet to agree a deal to sell the club to prospective investor Amanda Staveley. Rafa has been more than patient with the Newcastle hierarchy but this transfer window could be make or break for his future.
With his side rock bottom and favourites for relegation, Carvalhal might find this month just as frustrating as Benitez. The Swans boss poetically summed up the club's situation at his press conference this week:
He told reporters: "The boat is on the sea - but the fish didn't bite the hook. There is nothing so far, but you never know when the boat is on the sea. It might not be possible for the team to play as I want after just a month, what is important is that we fight to win games."
Carvalhal may not need any new signings to get a win at St James' Park, considering his record against Newcastle - he won all three of his matches versus the Magpies as Sheffield Wednesday manager.
STAT: Failure to win today would see Newcastle go seven successive games without a Premier League home win for the first time since a run of eight in a row from December 2008 to April 2009.
Central to this poor home run has been Newcastle's difficulty scoring goals - only 20 in 22 league games all season. The Geordies have failed to score in five of their last six league fixtures on Tyneside. Their only goals during this period were two in a 3-2 defeat to Leicester City in early December.
With Lascelles back in the team, conceding goals has not been an issue for United. They could keep three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since November 2014 with another shutout today, and they are hosting the division's lowest scorers in Swansea.
Lascelles also offers a goal threat from set pieces, and has actually bagged in both of his Premier League appearances against Swansea, including the winner at the Liberty Stadium in September.
What Newcastle have done very well this season is beat the teams around them in the relegation fight. Of their 22 points gained this season, 20 of them have come against sides currently below them in the table, and a continuation of that will surely keep them safe come the end of the campaign.
Swansea have only won twice on the road in the league this season, and did so for the first time in eight at Watford in their last away game. Their record at St James' Park is good though - with three wins and a draw from their last five visits.
Similarly to Newcastle, it is their troubles in front of goal which have seen Swansea slip into trouble. They have been overreliant on Tammy Abraham, who scored five in his first 10 matches for the club but has since suffered with form and fitness.
Carvalhal is one of many Premier League managers who will want to sign a striker this January, but a higher priority may be keeping hold of Alfie Mawson, who has been linked with a big-money move to West Ham, and previously Tottenham.
Mawson has arguably been Swansea's best player this campaign, and is crucial to the club's defensive stability, at least in comparison to some of their relegation rivals. Only against the two Manchester clubs and Liverpool this term have the Swans lost by more than two goals.
PREDICTION: I'd like to promise you a 3-3 thriller but this has all of the makings of a one-goal game. Newcastle know how to get the job done at home against the division's bottom sides and I reckon they will knick this one 1-0.
There are six 3.00pm kickoffs in the Premier League this afternoon, including Chelsea hosting Leicester and a host of other big games in the bottom half of the table. Stay up to date with all of the latest scores in our live results section.
KICKOFF: The game is underway, and as you'd expect, there is a great atmosphere at St James' Park!
Newcastle have started strongly and have a half-chance but Dwight Gayle cannot get balanced in the centre of the box, and thus his header from Dummett's cross does not have the power to trouble Fabianski.
UPDATE: Early goal at The Hawthorns where Jonny Evans has headed West Brom into the lead against Brighton.
Newcastle are in the rare position of being the more adventurous team in this one. They copped a lot of stick for the way that they sat back against Manchester City, and now themselves have to deal with an opponent who are set up to frustrate and hit on the counter.
YELLOW: On his first Premier League appearance for five months, Bartley picks up a 10th-minute booking for a foul on Gayle over on the left wing.
CHANCE! Really good opportunity for Newcastle, with Perez involved again as he crosses for Gayle but the former Crystal Palace striker glances a header wide from a great position.
Swansea fans can't make their mind up whether to boo Shelvey or not. Sometimes they are putting the effort in, and sometimes they can't be bothered. Collectively they have been as poor as their team has been this season.
CHANCE! The visitors threaten for the first time and it is young striker McBurnie. Swansea take the same tact that Newcastle have done, getting it wide and swinging some crosses in, with the Scotsman collecting a delivery from Martin Olsson only to sky a shot high and wide.
SHOT! Perez and Gayle seem to be on the same page this afternoon. The Magpies counter and Gayle tees up the Spaniard for a strike which is straight at Fabianski who gathers comfortably.
CLOSE! Dummett makes a good run forward, passes the ball onto Atsu and then continues into the box. A cutback from the Ghana international falls to Dummett who connects really sweetly with a first-time left-footed shot, but it was always rising.
Midway through this first half and Swansea have failed to test Darlow, over whom there could reasonably be some question marks. They are neat and tidy to a point, the visitors, but desperately lack penetration. Their main threat - Ayew - has been quiet.
Ritchie wastes a promising counter-attacking opportunity for the hosts as he cuts back onto his left foot and overhits an ambitious cross-field pass aimed at Atsu, with a throw-in the end result when it could have been so much more.
SAVE! This time Ritchie picks the right pass, and executes it perfectly to lift the ball over the Swansea defence and into the path of Perez. His first touch sets him up nicely for a half-volley on his left foot, but Fabianski gets a strong hand to push the shot away.
Newcastle are firmly on top of this game but need to transfer their dominance onto the scoresheet while they are on top. Swansea will be happy to simply retain parity until the last 20 minutes and then give things a go with some help from Bony and Narsingh on the bench.
UPDATE: Another big goal in the bottom half of the table with James Ward-Prowse putting Southampton ahead at Watford with his second in as many games. A Saints win at Vicarage Road would suck Watford into trouble and make things even more congested.
The visiting defence is panicked by a quick Atsu burst towards the box and four Swans players combine to bundle the winger down right on the edge of the area. Shelvey lines up the free kick and gets plenty of whip on it, but it finishes a couple of yards wide of the post.
Best Swansea move so far as Ayew gets down the left and crosses towards the penalty spot. Dyer lays the ball back for Ki whose shot - seemingly bound for the bottom corner - is blocked by Ciaran Clark.
PENALTY APPEAL! From the resultant corner, Swansea want a penalty for handball against Diame. Bartley headed a deep delivery back into the danger zone Van der Hoorn direct it past Darlow and towards goal, with Diame sticking out an arm to block the ball. Looked a spot kick to me!
DISALLOWED: St James' erupts after Gayle puts the ball into the net, but the offside flag halts the Toon Army before it gets into full swing Perez flicks on from a Ritchie corner and Gayle reacts with a typical poacher's finish, only for the assistant referee to deny him the opener.
A shaky moment for Darlow, who came a long way off his line to catch a floated Carroll free kick only to drop the ball, straight to the feet of McBurnie. Referee Graham Scott is very kind to the Newcastle goalkeeper as he awards a foul. Rob Elliot watches on from the bench...
A sloppy pass from Yedlin nearly gives Clucas the chance to run into the box, but the American has such blistering pace that he can get back to recover before things got too nervy for Newcastle.
Great defending at the other end too, as Mawson reads the game expertly to intercept a through-ball intended for Ritchie and stop a promising Magpies attack in its tracks.
In the first of two minutes of injury time, Swansea win a corner and Bartley again wins the first header, this time going for goal only to put too much on his effort which finishes a couple of yards high. Set pieces look like a potential avenue for the Swans, which is good because they have created next to nothing from open play.
HALF TIME: NEWCASTLE 0-0 SWANSEA:
You'd have got pretty short odds on this game being goalless at the break, but there have been chances especially for the hosts, who went close to an opener through both Perez and Dummett. Swansea have been very passive but will be content to take this game deep and see what happens.
The visitors may feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty in that first half. Diame definitely moved his arm in the direction of the ball to prevent Van der Hoorn's shot from threatening the home goal. Graham Scott waved away the appeals but might not have done with a second look. One for VAR!
Carvalhal has given Oliver McBurnie only a second league start for the club and the young striker has shown a few tidy touches, but his inclusion has demoted Jordan Ayew to the wing, and he is Swansea's best attacking player. The Ghana forward has hardly had a sniff in the final third yet.
England manager Gareth Southgate has made the trip to Tyneside this afternoon and while it has not exactly been thrill-a-minute football, he may have been impressed by the performances of Mawson and Lascelles in two organised defences. Could either of the centre-backs make the World Cup squad?
LATEST: The half-time scores from the Premier League are as follows: Chelsea 0-0 Leicester, Crystal Palace 1-0 Burnley, Huddersfield 1-1 West Ham, Watford 0-2 Southampton, West Brom 1-0 Brighton.
KICKOFF: Newcastle were out early for the second half, with the message from Benitez likely to be simple - be more clinical with our chances. The Magpies were decent aside from the end product in the first half, but Swansea have a lot of improving to do.
Clucas knocks a good ball down the line for Dyer to run onto. The winger is in the perfect crossing position but completely scuffs his pullback, intended for Ayew on the edge of the box, against his knee and a decent Swansea opening goes begging.
SHOT! Van der Hoorn has not looked comfortable at right-back and gives the ball away to Perez, who rolls in Gayle with a perfectly-weighted pass. The striker is 20 yards out on his weaker left foot and connects well but the shot drifts wide.
Careless defending from Newcastle as Clark clears off his centre-back partner Lascelles and out for a corner, from which a flick on at the near post would have perfectly teed up a Swansea runner in the centre, but there was nobody prepared to gamble.
Shelvey invites Atsu to run in behind Van der Hoorn with a clever albeit slightly hopeful lofted pass. The Swansea defender does well on this occasion, but Newcastle must feel they can isolate the makeshift right-back if they can continue to feed Atsu the ball.
Here we have the first signs of frustration from the home faithful, who groan as Yedlin drifts into an offside position when he had four men up in support.
As they did in the first half, Swansea have had more of the possession but are doing less with it. I'm not sure how the visitors expect to score. They don't cross the ball; they don't get midfield runners forward and they don't knock the ball in behind. They are reliant on set pieces or an Ayew screamer.
GOAL! NEWCASTLE 0-1 SWANSEA (JORDAN AYEW)
Ayew does pop up with a goal - it might not be a screamer but it is a very important one for the Swans. Benitez will be furious with the defending as Newcastle allow the Ghanaian two free headers in the box. Darlow does well to save the first one but can do nothing about the rebound.
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This has been a classic footballing tale so far, with Newcastle failing to make the most of the first-half dominance and Swansea taking the lead with their first clear-cut chance. Now it is Newcastle's turn to respond, and they need their fans to get behind them.
Instead though it is the Swansea supporters who can be heard singing around St James' Park. "We scored a goal, we scored a goal", the sarcastic chant coming from the away section.
SUBSTITUTIONS: A change for either side as Joselu replaces Gayle in attack for Newcastle, while an injury to Van der Hoorn has given Connor Roberts the opportunity to make a full Premier League debut for Swansea. He is a recognised right-back so may be more comfortable.
GOAL! NEWCASTLE 1-1 SWANSEA (JOSELU)
Benitez's substitution has an immediate impact as Joselu equalises for the Magpies within three minutes of his introduction. Shelvey sends Perez on his bike in the left channel, and the Spaniard cuts inside and tries to bend a shot into the far corner. It deflects into the path of Joselu, who capitalises on the generous space afforded to him by Mawson and Olsson to squeeze a shot into the bottom corner from eight yards out.
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SUBSTITUTION: Wilfried Bony was going to come on prior to the opening goal, and Carvalhal has turned to him now that Newcastle are back on level terms. McBurnie is the man to make way, having put in a decent shift but provided next to no goal threat.
It is a difficult first involvement for Roberts as Atsu gets above him at the back post, heading into the six-yard box. Perez tries to get to the knockdown but Fabianski reacts quicker and dives on the ball.
The crowd is up again and Shelvey is starting to dictate play. The midfielder shows the other side of his game by needlessly squaring up to Ayew but he has the potential to be the match-winner for Newcastle here, if he stays on the pitch. It really would be a massive three points for the hosts.
Mawson heads away an Atsu cross but only to Diame, whose ambitious first-time hit from the edge of the box does not trouble Fabianski on its way into the stands behind the Pole's goal.
The ball breaks for Bony in the box but the substitute suffers a complete airshot. He is very much the sublime or the ridiculous, the former Manchester City striker. That was the latter.
It has been an anxious few minutes for Newcastle and set pieces continue to be a concern. Clark gets into a mess defending his own box and hacks a wild clearance not far over his own crossbar.
SUBSTITUTION: Mikel Merino was the late hero for Newcastle against Crystal Palace earlier this season, and Benitez has turned to the Spaniard now with eight minutes to go plus stoppage time. Shelvey trudges off and his not happy that he is the man sacrificed.
YELLOW: Mawson is booked for kicking the ball away - only his second yellow card in 50 Premier League appearances for Swansea, which is a staggeringly good disciplinary record for a defender.
SUBSTITUTION: Speaking of late heroes, the match-winner at Watford - Narsingh - is on for Swansea in place of the ineffective Nathan Dyer.
Newcastle have a really good set-piece opportunity, 35 yards from goal on the right side of the pitch and throw Lascelles and Clark forward. The delivery from Ritchie is so poor though and drifts behind for a goal kick.
YELLOW! Great goalkeeping by Fabianski, who relieves the pressure on the Swansea defence by authoritatively claiming a corner. Meanwhile, Ayew is booked for kicking the ball away.
Ritchie has a second chance to get the dead-ball delivery right after Narsingh brings down Atsu by the corner flag. Again the delivery is not the best and Swansea clear through Bartley.
OFF THE LINE! What a chance for Swansea to win the game! Bony flicks a long punt on for Narsingh, and Darlow is rapidly off his line to thwart the Dutchman at his feet, knocking the ball back into the path off Bony, whose left-footed shot is cleared off the line by Yedlin!
FULL-TIME: NEWCASTLE 1-1 SWANSEA
Newcastle survive a late scare in a 1-1 draw, which is probably a fair reflection of the afternoon. The Magpies are now winless in seven home league matches and that form will need to improve if they are to stay clear of trouble. Swansea remain bottom and are facing certain relegation if they can't start scoring more freely.
That's it from our coverage at St James' Park, but do stay with us for live coverage of this evening's clash between Spurs and Everton at Wembley. And there is still 20 minutes until kickoff there, so plenty of time to read our match report of the action on Tyneside. Thanks for joining us!
