The loss of striker Obafemi Martins to a groin injury, with Damien Duff also struggling with a knee problem, has left the manager with few options.
The Magpies, who have never won the League Cup (as it was originally called), will once again invest much hope in the domestic cup competitions.
But as Keegan considered how best to tackle the game, he admitted wholesale changes were unlikely.
Keegan: "If I rest players, I will have to call some of you guys (the press) in - and looking at you, I think that would be a big mistake.
"We want to go there and give a good account of ourselves and try to win the game."
NEWCASTLE (from): Given, Harper, Beye, N'Zogbia, Taylor, Coloccini, Enrique, Bassong, Edgar, Butt, Geremi, Milner, Duff, Guthrie, Jonas, Smith, Owen, Ameobi, Donaldson.