Newcastle United narrowly scraped past West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup this week, winning 3-2. The Magpies have been on a miserable run of form, winning twice in the last eight games, both of which came against lower league oppositions.
Newcastle will have to put on a good performance this weekend when they travel to St. Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton. Steve Bruce’s men are safe for now but could get into a relegation dogfight as they are just five points above the drop zone.
Let’s take a look at the possible Newcastle United team for the game against Southampton.
Team News
The likes of Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, Emil Krafth and Andy Carroll will surely miss the game against Southampton. Allan Saint-Maximin returned to the starting XI for the FA Cup game, which was a huge boost for Bruce.
Goalkeeper
Martin Dubravka should return between the sticks for the Magpies after Karl Darlow played in goal last time around.
Defence
Bruce has played a four-man defence in the last two games, and we could see him continue with that formation. Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar played in defence last time around, but Federico Fernandez could come into the team, replacing Schar at the back. Danny Rose should retain his position at left-back, while Matt Ritchie is an option for Bruce in that position.
Javier Manquillo played at right-back last time around, but we could see DeAndre Yedlin come into the team to replace Manquillo. January signing Valentino Lazaro can also play in that position.
Midfield
Nabil Bentaleb should continue in the central midfield role. It will be interesting who plays alongside him in midfield. Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden, Sean Longstaff, and Matty Longstaff are options for Bruce. We may see Hayden play, to add work-rate and energy into midfield.
Lazaro should start as the right-sided midfielder, while Allan Saint-Maximin should start on the left.
Attack
Miguel Almiron, who scored twice in the FA Cup win, should continue in his natural attacking midfield role for Newcastle United. With Andy Carroll’s injury and Dwight Gayle’s lack of fitness, we could see Joelinton continue as the main striker.
