Southampton (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & prediction

Olly Hawkins

After an incredible October, we enter a new month bidding to keep up this incredible run of form that’s seen Eddie Howe’s high-flying Mags surge into the top four.

With five wins and a draw in our last six games, the Toon face a trip to Southampton this Sunday in what happens to be our last away game until Boxing Day!

With just one defeat in our last 10 meetings, our recent record against the Saints is a positive one. However, with the stakes high in our penultimate Premier League game before the World Cup, we can’t afford to let complacency slip in.

Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham have all failed to win at St Mary’s this season, but don’t look like a side ready to take our foot off the gas, with team spirit at an all time high, several players in the form of their life and the likes of Callum Wilson one of many pushing to make the World Cup.

On the game, Howe said: “This is a very difficult game. I have a lot of respect their manager. They are difficult to read, change personnel & systems a lot. They’ve had a few key injuries but it’ll be a difficult game.”

Whether you’re in the stands on the South Coast or watching Super Sunday on your sofa, let’s hope the lads can bring back all three points!

Team news

Joelinton is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend.

Allan Saint-Maximin and Jonjo Shelvey have trained all week, but it remains to be seen if Eddie Howe hands starts to either after both settled for late cameos against Aston Villa.

Alexander Isak (thigh) remains absent and will be missing until after the World Cup break, although it seems Karl Darlow is recovering well after he was spotted in training this week.

For the Saints, full-backs Tino Livramento and Kyle Walker-Peters are still out, but star centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap could return to the side after missing the last three games with a shoulder injury.

Predicted line ups

(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock – Almiron, Wilson, Murphy.

With Joelinton suspended, Howe will be forced to make at least one change in this one.

He does have plenty of options, however. Does he recall Jacob Murphy, hand Allan Saint-Maximin his first start since August or bring a fit-again Jonjo Shelvey back into the fold?

I’d like to see ASM, but I can see Murphy getting the nod if the Frenchman isn’t ready to start, with him making a real impact from the bench in our 4-0 win over Aston Villa.

As for Shelvey, Howe’s pre-match comments suggest he’s not ready to start just yet, with him unlikely to be risked too soon just two weeks before the World Cup break.

Predicted Southampton XI: Bazunu – Bella-Kotchap, Caleta-Car, Salisu – Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Diallo, S Armstrong, Perraud – Aribo, Adams.

One to watch: James Ward-Prowse – An obvious one, but in JWP they have a huge threat from set pieces. Whether it’s his in-swinging corners or devastating free kicks, he could be their biggest threat. Joel Aribo is a tricky player and big centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap a tough opponent for Callum Wilson if the German talent returns from injury.

Prediction

I have so much confidence in this team right now. Our team spirit is unrivalled, we have the best defence in the Premier League and are scoring goals for fun.

Southampton away has the potential to be a banana skin if we’re not at it, but I back us to have too much, with complacency unlikely to slip into our game when the stakes are so high in our hunt for European football.

Wilson to boost his World Cup hopes again in a comfortable win on the South Coast!

Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Newcastle

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

View all posts by Olly Hawkins →

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69 thoughts on “Southampton (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & prediction”

  2. Prem: you/we deserve it man. It has been so long (including Rafa) of keeping it tight for 20 mins and sneaking in to half time level and getting a lucky goal in the 80th minute to snatch a point.

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  3. I can’t argue with Olly’s team. I reckon Eddie is wrapping Shelvey and ASM in cotton wool so we really wont see much of them until after the world cup. With Isak, that will be like the proverbial 3 new players 🙂

    The only thing I see changing this is that Eddie might want to give Chelsea more to think about and could start ASM. Who is their right full-back?

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  4. I was going to go to the pub to watch our game on Sunday. Arsenal play after and I used to live in Islington so I thought I might stay for that. Then I saw they play the Red Bindippers who are the most annoying fans in the world. They will want my seat and will stand annoyingly close waiting to swoop in if I go to the toilet.

    It is not worth it. I may as well go to the store and get a 6 pack and sit on my couch.

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  5. It is not worth making a fuss about. It has happened before where the scousers wanted my seat. I went to the toilet and left a beer mat on top of my pint indicating I wasnt done. Sure enough a scouser took my seat anyway. He knew I wasnt done but it wasnt worth arguing about. I picked up my beer and finished it standing up and left.

    They are the most annoying people on the planet so I am avoiding them!!!

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  6. So, I am watching Wraith’s channel and it very interesting. I like Wraith as a host. What there is though is the usual reinventing history, talking like they knew we would be this good. I think only me and Prem predicted top 4/6. Almost everybody else on any media, social or otherwise, said slow and steady progress – top 10 and they would be happy.

    It was the same with Bruce to an extent. I knew he would get us relegated and said so. It was a matter of time.

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing and that is what a lot of people have on social media.

    Foresight is really what you need and I have had some of that on here!!! He said, blowing his own trumpet 🙂 England to draw against the USA and go out in the quarter finals.

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  9. PremAndUp: Eric it Chelsea Arsenal before us, and Spurs Liverpool after us

    Thanks Prem: they are the 4 teams with the most fans in the bar I go to so it will be packed. Man U have their own bars and Man City still arn’t that big over here.

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  10. I agree with Jake Jackman about Little Joe. Even without the stats, my gut feeling has been that he has played well. We have a pretty good squad now and need to get behind Eddie and the lads – without bias and judgement! I am sick of some people criticizing Chris Wood. He was a stop gap and still is. He will be gone soon enough. Leave him alone FFS.

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  11. We have stuck together on here through Ashley, through Bruce, through Ugly John. There is never really a harsh word said. Not even by me 🙂 So in the good times that seem to be approaching, we should read what a magnificent Geordie once sang/wrote. This was like almost 40 years ago when I was in college, a true genius, the great Mark Knopfler:

    Through these fields of destruction
    Baptisms of fire
    I’ve witnessed your suffering
    As the battle raged high
    And though they did hurt me so bad
    In the fear and alarm
    You did not desert me
    My brothers in arms

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  12. It will be good if Mark Knopfler does a tour soon. I am sure he would come to Chicago!!!

    I have seen Kraftwerk and Blondie this year. Old school.

    Depeche Mode are coming to play the Chicago Theatre in April. I was never a massive fan, but then they released VIOLATOR which is a brilliant album. Not sure what they did after that 🙂 But I will be happy if they just play all of the songs from that one record.

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  14. Isn’t it weird not to be worried about relegation? The only time I remember recently was that lucky/overachieving Pards season and when we were trying to get promoted from the Championship.

    The last 15 years have been mostly bad football. Cabaye and Demba Ba helped. There were moments with Cisse but they were limited to about 3 wonder goals and the rest of the time he was offside!

    Am I being too negative here?

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  15. I am watching the Man City game and in the top corner they show the current standings of other games. They are all over the shop, going back and forth. Forest, Wolves, B’mth, Brentford, Leeds, Brighton!!! They are all going to in a relegation battle.

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  19. I have never actually seen Haaland when he takes down the man-bun-pony-tail he has on his head during games. Does he look OK with that ugly mess off his heed?

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  20. Oh well, I was wrong about the draws 🙂

    Maybe I will be right if I predict a draw with Everton and Leicester?

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  21. Will Steve Bruce be taking his dog to the fireworks tonight? It ran away last year when he took it.

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  22. Mackems got beat at home but ALSO WBA won away at QPR. I knew there was a team there and they had been Bruced.

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  23. The Guardian match report on Leeds said that “Summerville hit the high note to seal comeback win”. They didnt explicitly say it but I am sure this is a reference to 70s/80s band Bronski Beat whose lead singer, Jimmy Summerville, was famous singing in a very high voice. Some people on here will be old enough to remember them.

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  24. So only change is Murphy for Joelinton. Maxi is on the bench. Hard to change a winning team too much. Looking forward to a win. But we must not give free kicks away for Ward Prowse to have a go at.

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  26. My only worry is that NUFC fans all over the internet are predicting a big win today. I have supported NUFC for too long to ASSUME anything.

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  35. Kimtoon: I could be wrong but the Tripps “injury” looks like he lost his man and acted like he had a strain. Let’s see if he comes out for the 2nd half.

    It is a pretty even game. Saints are better than I thought.

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  37. 2-1 to Villa now. I dont have that much against Villa and dont see them as a threat to us this year. I would much rather have Man U lose.

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  38. ***, Miggy again! He can’t stop scoring! Longstaff should’ve buried that opportunity and we got lucky at the end there. A good first half!

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  55. Wow! We are playing some great footy these days, and goal contributions from quite a few. Great to see. Pleased for Wood and Willock too.

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  59. Villa beat Man U 3-1 and we beat Villa 4-0 so that means we will win 7-1 when we play the Mancs.

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  61. Southgate was there today. There is still no mention of BDB, Willock or Longstaff for England. If they were at Man U you know they would be in the squad.

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  64. I think Wilson came off as he was I’ll during the week, and maybe feeling the effects. Hopefully not injured.
    Maxi a bit rusty when he came on but still got an assist.

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  65. You know what it is with the 3 I mentioned? It is the pundits giving them no credit and pretty much saying they are punching above their weight. If Danny’s Murphy and Mills can get in an England squad then why not those 3? Jack Colback once made an England squad. Harry Winks! Jack Rodwell. Harry McGuire 🙂

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  66. Somebody in punditry has to admit eventually that our players were Bruced, as were West Broms.

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  67. I think they said in the commentary this was Eddie’s 41st game inc. cups. Look how far we have come!!! Remember when we couldnt buy an away win?

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  69. Just checked in as didn’t get to see game today and wow another great sounding result so I’ll look forward to replay on peacock

    Still getting my head around being a bit disappointed to see nufc have conceded a goal

    Saw a stat that nufc have greatest number of goal scorers from PL teams so moving away from depending on Wilson too

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