One of Saturday’s 3pm kick-offs sees a relegation destined Southampton host a wounded Newcastle United, who tasted defeat against Bournemouth last time out, ending their streak of nine wins in a row.
Meanwhile, Southampton haven’t won a league game since November, and in truth, haven’t looked close to clinching another one since. Having sacked Russell Martin as head coach in December, results somewhat unsurprisingly haven’t improved under Ivan Juric, and the job he currently has on his hands is damage limitation.
Newcastle will move fifth with a win, with fifth placed Man City and fourth placed Chelsea helping their cause by playing each other. However, a slip up cannot be afforded here.
As the game approaches, here is everything you need to know about both sides ahead of kick-off.
Southampton Predicted Lineup (3-5-2): Alex McCarthy (GK); Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, James Bree; Ryan Manning, Joe Aribo, Lesley Ugochukwu, Mateus Fernandes, Kyle Walker-Peters; Adam Armstrong, Cameron Archer.
When the Premier League kicked off in August, many thought Southampton’s £100 million plus investment in the squad would have been enough to see them avoid relegation come May, particularly with such a talented manager in Russell Martin at the helm.
Six months on, Martin is gone, and Southampton are propping up the table with just a measly six points to show for their efforts. What is more, they have been the architects of their own downfall, with countless errors leading to goals being the crux of the issue.
The players they bought in the summer simply didn’t arrive with enough Premier League experience, with the Saints recruitment team focusing on youth and enthusiasm rather than calmer, more measured experienced campaigners. And now it has come back to bite them. Newcastle won’t give them a sniff here.
Newcastle United Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Martin Dubravka (GK); Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Tino Livramento; Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes; Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak, Jacob Murphy.
While they’re red hot form may have finally been extinguished at the hand’s of Eddie Howe’s former side, Newcastle have given themselves a massive boost in the race for Europe over recent weeks.
Sitting a poor 13th in December, Howe turned things on their head and oversaw a remarkable run of form which has propelled his side back into Champions League contention. Beating Tottenham, Aston Villa, Man United and Arsenal (In the cup), his side have started to show glimpses of the form that carried them to fourth place in 2023.
However, they have some tricky fixtures approaching, facing Man City, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool in February, which will show where they truly stand in and amongst the best teams in the country right now.
Recent Meetings:
There is not that much to say here. It is such a one sided game here, and if the lay of the Premier League table is anything to go by, then Newcastle should comfortably pick up three points to go fifth.
Southampton 1-4 Newcastle
With the attacking form Howe’s side have been in, this game poses the opportunity for his forwards to fill their boots with goals. Realistically, a 4-1 scoreline is conservative.
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