When Newcastle United eventually return to competition after what will have seemed like an endless agony of nothingness for Eddie Howe, it will be to a game laced with irony.

A trip to the smoke taking in the palace is normally a journey of joy and high anticipation. It may result in a royal handshake and a gong to treasure forever or at the very least a selfie standing proudly next to a Coldstream Guard ramrod upright in full plumage.

However for Howe and his under-achieving players it will feel more like a visit to the Tower of London than Buck House because a resumption of Premier League hostilities in just over a week's time - on Sunday, April 12 - pairs them against Crystal Palace in an all-or-nothing return to reality following the double disaster of Barcelona and Sunderland.

It's a confrontation between two sides who tasted unbridled joy not that long ago after a mighty wait, but have fallen spectacularly from their lofty perch.

After three weeks of stewing in our own juice this will see...