Welcome to our live coverage of West Brom v Newcastle from the Hawthorns. Newcastle can go level on points with Chelsea  – and eight clear of Liverpool – if they can beat the Baggies.

West Brom, meanwhile, are hoping their recent improved form can help them to a top half finish.

You want teamsheets?

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Morrison, Andrews, Mulumbu, Thomas, Odemwingie, Fortune

Subs: Daniels, Long, Brunt, Shorey, Dawson, Cox, Scharner

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Perch, Ben Arfa, Guthrie, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Cisse, Ba

Subs: Elliot, Santon, Abeid, Gosling, Shola Ameobi, Vuckic, Ferguson

Interesting noises from Hodgson over the weekend – he says he’d take the England job if those nice, dithering folk at the Football Association deemed him worthy.

Two minutes into the game here – Newcastle in their unfamiliar orange garb and West Brom in, well, their… We won’t even bother finishing that sentence.

Nothing much has happened so far, truth be told.

Ben Foster takes no chances, saving from Demba Ba after the Senegalese striker hits the ball into the ground.

After a couple of corner we have a GOAL!!

It’s West Brom 0-1 Newcastle - Hatem Ben Arfa’s trickery down the left helps him to evade the West Brom defence and the Frenchman’s ball across is begging for a foot at the end of it. That foot belongs to Papiss Cissé, with his fourth goal in six starts for the Magpies.

West Brom 0-2 Newcastle! It’s been a very impressive start to the game for Hatem ben Arfa, and he scores Newcastle’s second goal of the game. He scampers out of his own defence, finds Cissé, who returns the ball to the former Lyon man.

Ben Arfa cuts in and shoots powerfully past Foster. Very well taken goal and Newcastle seem to have the match sewn up after 13 minutes…

James Perch takes a ball to the bojangles. Occupational hazard.

West Brom have their first chance of the game – Liam Ridgewell’s cross from the left is cushioned on to the boot of James Morrison. His shot goes well over, however.

[caption id="attachment_396050" align="alignnone" width="511" caption="Adrian Chiles and Bob Taylor put on the West Bromwich Albion mascot outfits in aid of Sport Relief."][/caption]

West Brom have been more of a threat for the last five minutes, but it would probably help if they weren’t 2-0 down. The crowd at the Hawthorns is not too despondant, yet, given the fact that the sun is shining down.

Chants of ‘Fabrice Muamba’ roll around the stadium. The young Bolton midfielder is still in everyone’s thoughts.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have a free kick inside the Baggies’ half. Cabaye takes it but Billy Jones clears it.

Meanwhile, we’re hearing tell of showboating antics from Dalymount Park…

The game at the Hawthorns has just passed the 30-minute mark. Newcastle have become slightly more complacent since Ben Arfa made it 2-0, and the game is mostly being played in the midfield.

It couldn’t be described as dirty but there seem to be a lot of mistimed tackles.

As I type that, Marc-Antoine Fortune thinks he’s helped his side make it 2-1, but the referee’s whistle sounded about half an hour before he crossed the ball.

West Brom 0-3 Newcastle! Newcastle’s attacking trio have been exceptional and they are all involved in Newcastle’s third. Ba picks out the run of Ben Arfa. The winger’s cross eludes Ba – who injures himself trying to get to it – but not Cissé, who shoots first time past Foster.

Hodgson is irate on the West Brom bench, flinging what looks like a piece of chewing gum/betting slip/torn up fag packet to the ground.

Pardew has asked an injured Fabricio Coloccini if he can do five more minutes. His captain answers in the negative, but Davide Santon remains rooted to the bench.

Newcastle’s next Premier League game is against Liverpool next Sunday. It’s not at Anfield, so they may actually have a game on their hands.

That’s half-time, and it’s West Brom 0-3 Newcastle. The home side haven’t actually been that bad and don’t deserve to be so far behind, but they can’t compete with Ben Arfa, Ba and two-goal Cissé.

Brilliant attacking play from Newcastle.

Time for the second half – James Perch has moved into the centre of the Newcastle defence, with Santon going to left-back. Coloccini has had to go off injured.

Shane Long, meanwhile, has come on for West Brom and will join Fortune up front.

Pardew, meanwhile, has confirmed that Coloccini has suffered a hamstring injury. A shame, as the Argentine has been one of their best performers this season.

Mulumbu’s cross is headed out to Morrison by Long, but the midfielder’s shot goes wide. That was never troubling Tim Krul.

In fact, that could be the first mention of Krul in this liveblog. He didn’t even have to do anything.

Cissé almost gets in for his hat-trick — his first for Newcastle – but he is denied by Foster.

Cissé, having taken the ball from Yohan Cabaye’s deflected pass, was a little bit too casual there…

Then…

Shane Long makes it West Brom 1-3 Newcastle. Mike Williamson, under pressure from Peter Odemwingie, fails to put his foot through the ball and it falls to the Irishman. Long scores his seventh of the season. Game on?

Ben Arfa has been brilliant today and he almost puts Newcastle 4-1 up, but Ben Foster gets down to produce a fine save to his left before Jonas Olsson clears the ball.

After some accidentally good work from Fortune, Mulumbu works some space for himself in the Newcastle box. Williamson gets the block in though, making up somewhat for his dreadful error for Long’s goal.

This is turning into a serious man crush Hatem Ben Arfa, who slides through the West Brom defence like they’re not there before ALMOST squeezing Cissé in. He could still be a superstar, this lad, and maybe even Alan Shearer know who he is by now…

Long should have done better there.

The former Reading man plays a one-two with Olsson and has plenty of time to work Krul. He doesn’t. It goes over the bar.

There are 20 minutes remaining at the Hawthorns as Paul Scharner prepares to come on for the home side.

[caption id="attachment_396099" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Beating the traffic"][/caption]

Cabaye has a free-kick. The crowd goes silent. The crowd expects something brilliant. The crowd remembers he’s no good without Cheick Tiote. The crowd sees the ball go over the bar.

Meanwhile, Man Crush has been replaced by Shola Ameobi, to whom we are largely indifferent.

Cissé is down on the ground and it looks like he might be replaced by Northern Ireland’s Shane Ferguson. The Newcastle striker follows Ben Arfa off the pitch on a stretcher. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.

West Brom are down to ten men after Morrison is carried from the pitch.

A lot of injuries in what has not been a particularly dirty match – Coloccini, Ben Arfa, Cissé and now Morrison have all picked up knocks.

Scharner’s Don Draper haircut sees his cross head over the bar. That was none too clever from the Austrian.

It’s the 88th minute and all the stoppages have rendered the game pointless for the last ten or 15 minutes.

West Brom have tried to attack through Odemwingie and Long, with Chris Brunt prompting, but Newcastle’s defence has survived the loss of Coloccini.

We have 7 (seven) minutes of added time.

Alan Smith of Sky Sports has given the man of the match award to Ben Arfa. Proper order.

Meanwhile, Perch — who has not been awful today, defying his reputation — takes the ball off the head of Long at the far post. Two minutes of injury time remain.

Fifteen… Fourteen… Thirteen… Realistically the match was over at half-time and it’s been a bit of a procession.

This is Newcastle’s sixth away win of the season and has been achieved with a swagger.

Injuries in the second half interrupted proceedings but the first half was worth the admission alone.

Newcastle go level on games and points with Chelsea, a phenomenal achievement with only eight games remaining.

That’s it from the Hawthorns, thanks for keeping up.