Alonso misses out

Alonso is recovering well from the injury he picked up against Preston last week but is not fit enough to face Stoke City this afternoon.

"He was training. We'll have to decide later today but I don't think he'll be in the squad, so we are looking at the next game," said Rafael Benitez.

"It's not a question of him not being able to train - he can work hard and do almost everything. The problem is that he can't wear the boots at the moment. He's been training in trainers."