PATRICK Kluivert expects his strike partnership with Alan Shearer to be worth 40 goals this season, and has insisted that the duo's competition to be top scorer can only work to Newcastle's advantage.

The Dutch international was in sparkling form as the Magpies brushed aside Israeli side Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin on Thursday night, with his first-half double taking his tally to six goals in just five starts since his summer move from Spain.

Alan Shearer can match that figure, with his injury-time curler completing the second European hat-trick of his career and leaving him neck and neck with Kluivert at the top of the scoring charts.

Tomorrow's Premiership clash with Birmingham will give the pair another chance to add to their tally, and their head-to-head battle is set to run and run this season.

Neither player will want to end the campaign as second best but, with the goals currently flying in from every angle, Kluivert is confident Newcastle will benefit from his competitive streak.

"Both Alan and I have got off to a good start to the season," said Kluivert, who has already banished the memory of a nightmare year that saw him axed from the first team at previous club Barcelona.

"Strikers are measured by goals - sometimes that's a bit unfair but it's a fact - and, by that measure, we're doing well.

"We've scored six goals each and that's great for the club. To be honest, we both want to finish with 20 goals each.

"Alan does that every year at Newcastle and, in my first year at the club, that's got to be my aim too.

"It has been a fantastic start for me and of course I like the competition with Alan - that is what playing at big clubs is all about.

"I'm sure Alan feels the same way because big players should thrive on competition and we are the same.

"Both of us want to score as many goals as we can and, ultimately, the club will be the winner. That's the way we have to look at it and that's certainly the way I will be looking at things."

Some commentators questioned whether Kluivert and Shearer could play in the same team when the former European Cup winner moved to Tyneside this summer.

But, after partnering each other for the first time in the 2-1 win at Southampton, Graeme Souness has given his two leading lights the chance to forge a profitable partnership in successive wins against West Brom and Sakhnin.

Kluivert has the utmost respect for his strike partner and, after admiring him from afar during the last eight years, the Dutch forward has been greatly impressed by what he has seen in the flesh.

"Alan is up there with the very best players I have been with," he said.

"Although we've only been together for a short period, it doesn't take long to realise what a great player he still is.

"I knew all about Alan going right back to Euro '96, so to play alongside him is a dream come true.

"I have partnered many great players during my career but he is as good, if not better, than any of them. He is a proper centre-forward."

Kluivert clearly judges himself on his scoring record but, as the rest of the United side have found this season, there is more to the Dutchman's game than simply hitting the back of the net.

His link-up play has been equally impressive, with a combination of strength and skill helping to bring an extra dimension to Newcastle's attacking play.

"His awareness is good for me because he always seems to know where people are around him," revealed midfielder Lee Bowyer, another success story this season.

"The second goal against Sakhnin was a prime example of that - he laid the ball off for me perfectly just as I was making a run. When I was at Leeds, Mark Viduka was the same. He was able to play you in brilliantly.

"For players like me who like to get forward, it's great because I know I'll get a lot of supply off Patrick. I think we've already shown that we can work well together."

Kluivert will not be the only Newcastle player hoping to be on the goal trail at St Andrew's tomorrow, as Bowyer is desperate to break his seasonal duck in the Midlands.

The former Leeds star struggled to hit top form last term but, after being switched into the centre of midfield, his recent performances have scaled the heights he reached in the early stage of his career at Elland Road.

Those all-action displays earned a solitary England cap under current boss Sven Goran Eriksson but, while Bowyer admits he is beginning to recapture his former glories, he insists he will not be back to his very best until the goals start to flow.

"I think my form's getting there," said the 27-year-old.

"But, if I'm honest, I'd have to admit that I've still got a little way to go.

"I was a regular at the end of last season but, when I was playing out on the right of midfield, I found it difficult to get involved.

"I know I'm not a winger and I think everyone who has watched me play will agree that I'm a better player in the centre of midfield.

"It helps to play there and it helps to know that you're going to play there.

"It allows me to get forward, and that's important to me because scoring goals is a key part of my game.

"I've played six games in a row now and I haven't scored, and that's a little bit disappointing.

"I had a few chances last weekend but things just didn't happen for me.

"I also had a perfectly good goal disallowed on Thursday night, so maybe I just need a bit of luck to go my way."

Bowyer is likely to retain his central midfield spot at Birmingham, despite Nicky Butt's return from suspension.

Jermaine Jenas is set to fill the left midfield spot, with Craig Bellamy continuing on the opposite flank.

Robbie Elliott missed Thursday night's win because of a virus and, with the veteran defender unlikely to be fit by tomorrow, Aaron Hughes is poised for his first Premiership start since the 3-0 win over Blackburn.