Newcastle United will be looking to record three straight Premier League wins for the first time since November 2014 when they host Stoke City at St James' Park on Saturday.

It looked as though a difficult season could be in the offing for the newly-promoted Magpies when they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town in their opening two fixtures without scoring a goal, but they have bounced back well.

Rafa Benitez's men produced a convincing display to beat West Ham United 3-0 in their previous home game, before they won 1-0 against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium last Sunday following a second half header from captain Jamaal Lascelles.

They face a tough task against a Potters side that have also begun the campaign well though; as well as beating Arsenal 1-0, they brought Manchester United's 100% record to an end last time out as they drew 2-2 with the Red Devils.

Both the Magpies and Mark Hughes' side have already shown that they have players that can hurt the opposition and make a difference at this level, and those individuals will come up against each other at St James' Park.

Here are four key battles that will decide Newcastle vs Stoke…

Matt Ritchie vs Eric Pieters

With 12 goals and eight assists in 42 Championship appearances last season Rafa Benitez would have been confident that Ritchie could step up to the Premier League and have an impact, and he has certainly done that so far.

While it clearly isn’t going to be as simple to create and score goals at this level, the 28-year-old has already set up two of the four top flight goals that Newcastle have netted this season.

One of those came last weekend against Swansea when his corner was headed home by Lascelles, and he will hope to have a similar impact against Stoke.

It will be an interesting battle against Pieters, who has been playing as a left wing-back this term to showcase both his defensive and attacking abilities.

As well as attacking the Dutchman down the right-hand side, Ritchie will also have to be aware of tracking his opponent too.

Jamaal Lascelles vs Jese Rodriguez

Despite making him captain last year and the centre-back playing a huge part in helping Newcastle United to an immediate return to the Premier League, Lascelles started the opening day fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on the substitutes' bench with new boy Florian Lejeune and Ciaran Clark preferred in the starting line-up.

However, the former picked up an injury against Spurs and Lascelles has gone on to feature in all of the Magpies' three top flight matches since.

After helping Rafa Benitez's side keep successive clean sheets and scoring the winning goal against Swansea last weekend, the former Nottingham Forest man will be full of confidence ahead of the clash against Stoke.

The centre-back may face a tough afternoon against Jese though, who used to play for Real Madrid and is on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The Spaniard scored the winning goal when the Potters beat Arsenal 1-0 last month and he could be a tricky customer to deal with.

Joselu vs Bruno Martins Indi

Joselu will come up against his former club this weekend having made a positive impression at St James' Park following his move last month.

The 27-year-old centre-forward left Stoke following the arrivals of Jese and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting during the summer transfer window and he has quickly become a key outlet for Newcastle up top because of his height.

He scored his Premier League goal for the club in the 3-0 win against West Ham United last month and he will be determined to find the net again against his former employers.

Someone who will know the Spaniard well is Martins Indi, who completed a permanent move to the Britannia Stadium last month following a successful loan spell last term.

The Dutchman is strong in the air and will enjoy the physical battle against Joselu, especially as he has been in and out of Mark Hughes’ side in his three top flight appearances this season.

Javier Manquillo vs Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Manquillo is another summer arrival that has settled into life at St James' Park well, and he has looked a solid addition at right-back.

The former Sunderland man has played every minute of their Premier League campaign so far and helped them keep those successive clean sheets, but he may have a battle on his hands when he comes up against Choupo-Moting on Saturday.

Stoke signed the left-sided forward from Schalke during the summer transfer window and while it takes some players time to make an impact in the Premier League, the 28-year-old did that almost instantly against Manchester United last weekend.

The Red Devils came into the clash at the Britannia Stadium having not conceded in their opening three top flight matches, but the Cameroon international scored a brace to hold Jose Mourinho's men to a 2-2 draw and he will be full of confidence for the trip to Tyneside on Saturday.

Often favouring the left, even if Choupo-Moting starts as the central striker he'll likely drift into Manquillo's channel - where his height and power could be the difference against the Spaniard.