On the 28th January 2017, Rafa Benitez suffered probably his most embarrassing defeat as Newcastle boss.
He took the Magpies to the Kassam Stadium for an FA Cup fourth round tie against Oxford United, and left with egg on his face.
Newcastle were battered by their League One opponents, losing 3-0 and exiting the cup in humiliating fashion.
Will history repeat itself tonight? Steve Bruce will pray it doesn’t.
Three years on, the Magpies take on Oxford at the same stage of the competition, with a game against West Brom awaiting the winner.
Things were different in 2017. Promotion was the priority for Benitez, who put out a second string side on January 28th.
That can’t be the case for Bruce tonight, who must pick a strong side. BBC sense a giant killing – that’s why the game is live on TV.
If Bruce’s side crash out of the FA Cup, the fans will be baying for blood. Newcastle don’t have much else to play for this season. Survival looks likely. The FA Cup is the only chance Newcastle have of achieving something.
The manager will pick a strong side, but will it be enough? It wasn’t in the first game, and that was in front of a packed out St James’ Park.
Bruce can rewrite a Benitez wrong tonight with victory at Oxford tonight. If he loses, he won’t get the kind of reprieve that the Champions League winning boss got.
Tonight is a season-defining match for Steve Bruce.
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