Newcastle United start life without Carroll at Fulham

The shadow of Andy Carroll looms large over Tyneside and Alan Pardew needs to life Newcastle fans' gloom with a win at Craven Cottage.

While £35 million may have been a price too big too turn down for their top scorer and star player, what might anger Newcastle fans more is the fact the club have not moved to replace Carroll.

The only incoming player during January was Stephen Ireland, but he is unable to make his debut for at least two weeks as he is out with a hamstring injury.

Newcastle are unbeaten in the Premier League so far in 2011 - with two wins and two draws - and are 14/5 to beat Fulham on Wednesday night. The goalscoring burden will now fall on Shola Ameobi, who has got four league goals so far this term.

Club captain Kevin Nolan needs to add to his record of 10 goals if the Magpies are to fill the void left by Carroll, while the likes of Leon Best (8/1 to be first goalscorer), Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger need to aspire to step up and show they could deserve the Newcastle number nine shirt down the line.

Pardew is without Chiek Tiote for the trip to Craven Cottage as he is serving the final match of a three-game suspension, while he also has a lengthy injury list to contend with that means Hatem Ben Arfa, Dan Gosling, Steven Taylor, Alan Smith and Ryan Taylor are all unavailable for selection.

Fulham are likely to be buzzing with confidence after their 4-0 thrashing of Spurs in the FA Cup and they are priced at 11/10 to beat Newcastle. The side's upturn in fortunes has coincided with the return to fitness of striking duo Andrew Johnson and Moussa Dembele (7/1 to get the first goal).

Mark Hughes, who has never tasted defeat against Newcastle during his managerial career, brought in Chelsea youngster Gael Kakuta and the experienced Eidur Gudjohnsen in on loan on transfer deadline day, with both players in line to make their debuts at Craven Cottage.

David Stockdale should remain in goal and Mark Scharzer is given time to recover after returning from the Asian Cup, while Dickson Etuhu is struggling with a hamstring problem.

Newcastle could climb as high as seventh in the Premier League with a win on Wednesday night and that would be a real morale-booster as the Geordie faithful look ahead to life without Andy Carroll.

The Magpies are not safe from being sucked into a relegation battle and need someone to fill the boots of the England striker and fire the goals to ensure they retain their top-flight status this season.