Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to LIVE updates from St James Park, where Newcastle United are hosting Wigan.

Aimless long ball forward from Barton which is plucked out of the air by Al Habsi.

Good lay-off from Carroll to Barton gets Newcastle into the final third but the resulting cross in from Perch is a poor one.

Carroll blocks the free kick and the ball breaks quickly for Gutierrez. He lays it back to Barton who is fouled by Di Santo at halfway.

Gomez picks up a loose ball but he's got very few options available - Tiote is again on hand with a crunching (and unfair) tackle.

Enrique is prevented from going down the left but turns inside and has a little more success.

Good moment of skill from Charles N'Zogbia to sweep by a couple fo challenges on the left hand side - he runs out of steam but the home fans would probably like to think that their chorus of boos had some effect too.

A long ball forward crossfield for Carroll fails to reach its target - the striker has yet to touch the ball.

Wigan have been marginally the brighter side in these opening exchanges, but neither side have threatened the goal so far.

N'Zogbia brought down in the centre circle by a pumped-up Tiote.

One more win for Newcastle and they'd have 250 in Premier League football. Only six clubs have achieved that.

Tiote bundled over in midfield for a Newcastle free kick.

Di Santo running down the middle is stopped in his tracks and Enrique tries to get things moving for United down the left - no luck this time.

A dangerous ball threaded through for McCarthy - Perch and Krul combine, albeit a bit clumsily, to clean up the situation.

A good atmosphere at the ground and sunshine in the north east on a crisp October day - and Gomez is felled early for the visitors.

Away we go!

Mark Halsey is today's referee. And the players are in a final huddle before Newcastle kick us off...

How will Charles N'Zogbia fare today? He's back at Newcastle for the first time since his controversial exit.

8 previous meetings in the Premier League between these sides - 3 Newcastle wins, 4 for Wigan, and just one draw. What will see today?

Five minutes until the Premier League resumes after the international window...

Roberto Martinez on Hatem Ben Arfa and tough tackling: "The Premier League has a competitive edge. Tackling is an art and needs to be in the game. You need to be accurate, not reckless, as you risk a red card, letting your team down and letting yourself down."

Chris Hughton: "When we came back into this division we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we are where we are. We are a team that was relegated over a year ago which had a very good season last season - but we know there are going to be ups and downs when you look at the quality in this division."