Southampton v Newcastle - Match Preview

Sunday afternoon will see us travel down to the south coast to play a struggling Southampton side who are yet to effectively hit the ground running this season.

For our opponents, this could be a pivotal game, one they believe they should be winning on paper and one that could potentially kick start their season and get the ball rolling.

However, with the amount of pressure mounting over manager Mauricio Pellegrini, some would argue it's a good time to play them and take advantage of their home hostilities.

From our point of view, positivity remains around SJP; the takeover rumours and the announcement of the permanent signing of Mikel Merino, our new idol, have left the Geordie faithful full of hope.

If this optimism can transfer onto the players on the pitch, then I don’t really see why we can't get a result, especially based on some of our tactical masterclasses already this season, courtesy of Mr Benitez.

With it being Newcastle though, it's not all good news!

This week saw the outbreak of a story about a bust up between captain Jamaal Lascelles and Mo Diame. Ironically, it was well-known aggressor Jonjo Shelvey that had to break up a fight between the pair, breaking his finger in the process.

You cant help but think 'only Newcastle' when it comes to stories like that, but thankfully it has since been resolved, with the pair apparently taking the rest of the squad out for lunch.

On the pitch, both sides seem to have similar problems, that of course being the attacking third of the pitch and having some form of fear for putting the ball in the back of the net. Southampton striker Gabbiadini has struggled to find form, whereas our own Joselu seems to have developed a knack of missing some “easy” chances.

Goals have come as a bit of a liberty for both sides, therefore I wouldn’t expect too many on Sunday, if any.

Last time out, Newcastle secured a fantastic one-all draw against Liverpool with a super tactical performance, albeit courtesy of a very lucky goal - Reds defender Joel Matip kicking the ball off Joselu for it to then roll in. We will most definitely be looking to carry on with the momentum from that game this weekend.

For Southampton, losing their last two and having only scored at home once in their last nine games, things certainly aren't going well for them.

I expect Shelvey and Merino to start in the midfield and produce a competitive enough battle to take at least a point.

However, I don’t really see where the goals are going to come from so a goalless draw is a very likely outcome.