NEWCASTLE take on Benfica tonight looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit after the leg in Lisbon and Papiss Cisse thinks he's striking form at only the proper time. Francisco Seco/AP Photo PAPISS CISSE has informed Benfica he's right back on the target trail as he tries to fire Newcastle into the Europa League semi-finals. The Senegal global has scored in four of his last six games to take his tally for the campaign to 12 but, with chances needs to get to larger numbers, he's confident of improving on his group of individual, if usually major, moves. Cisse said: "Absolutely. I've been getting a large amount of chances, I've been fortunate enough to score one in suits and I think this may improve my attitude and improve my concentration. "If I keep spending so much time, hopefully I'll have the ability to come out with a support or a hat-trick." Cisse and his team-mates headed into probably the greatest week of their time to date on the back of a Barclays Premier League success over Fulham, which arrived courtesy of the frontman's injury-time winner. They experience derby competitors Sunderland at St James' Park on Sunday in a game which may either ease them free from the struggle for top-flight survival, or drop them back in the relegation picture. That, in conjunction with tonight's European series, represents a vital four-day spell for the Magpies, but it is one they are experiencing. Cisse said: "It is exciting, really exciting for people. Of course there is pressure, that is understandable and totally normal, but players just want to play and get out there. "That is our job, that is what we do and it's a really joy to help you to get out there and do that." Hatem Ben Arfa may get the chance to do just that despite having been eliminated for the summer season with a prolonged hamstring issue. Director Alan Pardew unmasked yesterday that the mercurial France international has made an amazing recovery and is likely to be involved in the 18 tonight. Pardew said: "We were conservative in or approach when he re-injured his hamstring - when I say re-injured, he did not truly re-injure it, he wasn't confident about it. "We only said, 'That is him done this season ', and I believe it absolutely was a great mind-set for him to prove us wrong. "He has return with another mindset, and his mindset is that it feels much more resilient in the hamstring. "The scans demonstrate that the hamstring, though not completely restored - and with the type of damage he's had, it may very well not be for another seven or eight weeks - the confidence is in his mind that it is done, that he's fine, and that is important. "He could be an figure between now and the end of the entire year, and influential even tomorrow. Good form have been shown by him in training for two or three times. "He has looked much better, much stronger than when he went back before. There was definitely a doubt in his mind about the power of the hamstring, and with hamstring accidents often, it is how comfortable you're feeling. "He positively looks and feels ready this time." Newcastle United v Benfica begins at 8.05pm tonite and will undoubtedly be televised live on ITV4.
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