Newcastle United visit St Mary’s to face Southampton in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday evening.
The Magpies beat Leicester City 2-0 comfortably in the previous round of the Carabao Cup thanks to second-half strikes from Dan Burn and Joelinton. They come into this fixture on the back of an away 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Eddie Howe is expected to take the cup competition seriously and name a strong lineup to face Southampton, who stunned favourites Manchester City 2-0 at home in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Newcastle United Team News
Bruno Guimaraes provided a big boost for Eddie Howe as he recovered remarkably quickly from the nasty ankle injury he sustained in Newcastle’s win over Fulham to play the full game at Crystal Palace on Saturday. So, he should be fit to play on Tuesday again.
But Newcastle United are again expected to be without Emil Krafth, Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Targett.
Predicted Newcastle United Lineup vs Southampton (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Nick Pope has been solid in goal for Newcastle, keeping 12 clean sheets in 20 league games so far. He is a certainty to start against the Saints.
Defence
Newcastle’s defensive record this season remains simply superb with just 11 goals conceded in 20 games. And that is majorly down to the consistent performances of the back four that include Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn.
Eddie Howe is expected to stick with the same defence but they must defend well to keep a clean sheet at Southampton.
Midfield
Having come through unscathed against Crystal Palace, Bruno Guimaraes will seemingly be fine to start again. Acting as the deep-lying playmaker, the Brazilian will look to take control of the game as early as possible. He will be joined by Joe Willock and Joelinton, who could be shifted to a deeper role in midfield after playing out wide against Crystal Palace.
This means Sean Longstaff should drop down to the bench and wait for his opportunity to make an impact in the second half.
Attack
Allan Saint-Maximin is ready to provide some fresh legs in the final third, and the Frenchman’s pace, trickery and unpredictability could torment the Southampton defence. He could start on the left, with Miguel Almiron keen to get back his scoring touch from the other flank.
Alexander Isak has done well as a substitute in the last couple of games and should be confined to another appearance from the bench, meaning Callum Wilson will lead the Newcastle attack at Southampton.
