Premier League strugglers Fulham have been handed a potential boost ahead of their match against Newcastle on Saturday after Sam Allardyce announced he would be giving Claudio Cacapa the chance to redeem himself for the Magpies. The Brazilian defender was substituted after just 18 minutes against Portsmouth in November, by which point the visitors had stormed into a three-goal lead inside the first eleven minutes of the match.
Allardyce said: “Everybody knows what happened against Portsmouth last month, but what I have to say is that everybody can have an off-day.
“Claudio made a couple of mistakes in the space of five minutes, and that’s why I brought him off.”
The Magpies have failed to keep a clean sheet since beating Wigan 1-0 on 1st September, although have looked an good deal more solid in their last two matches. A draw with Arsenal was followed up at the weekend with a 2-1 win over Birmingham, and manager Allardyce will be looking to continue their unbeaten run against Fulham, Derby and Wigan over Christmas.