Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is delighted with the form of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
The France defender impressed in their draw at West Ham United on Saturday.
Pardew told the Evening Chronicle: "We defended really well, and I thought Mapou at left-back was terrific.
"We've lost Davide Santon and Sadio. But what Mapou had was a performance going into next week which gives us encouragement.
"That's probably an area which we haven't done well in recently. He was terrific - that really bodes well for next week."