Newcastle United midfielder Nicky Butt accepts they're in a relegation battle.
Butt is waiting to find out if the knee injury he picked up at Bolton will prevent him facing his old club but he believes Newcastle must collect points from their next three home fixtures against Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
"Our situation is getting more and more serious as the weeks go by and we definitely need to take something from those games now," he said. "It could not be tougher than United. They are coming to St James', which is something, but they are probably the best team in the world at the moment.
"We could play out of our skins on Wednesday and still come away with nothing - that's how good United are."