OPINION
Newcastle United boosted their chances of securing yet another season of Premier League football with an important 1-0 win over Leicester last Friday.
Ayoze Perez scored the only goal of the game to lift the Magpies to the 38 point mark, however, after Cardiff’s win over Brighton on Tuesday, the need to beat Southampton this Saturday has become greater than ever.
If Rafa Benitez is to have the best chance of beating the Saints this weekend, then he will have to make two changes to the side that won at Leicester.
In goal, Martin Dubravka must start as normal.
The first change must come to the back five preferred by Benitez, with Javier Manquillo being dropped in favour of DeAndre Yedlin at right-back. Manquillo did have a decent game against the Foxes, but Newcastle need to be a little bit more attacking in their search for another vital three points – and Yedlin is just the player to provide that.
Other than that, the defence has been rather solid recently, especially with Paul Dummett being recalled to the centre-back role. Florian Lejeune may be ruled out for the rest of the season, but players like Dummett show just how much depth the Magpies have in that area of the field.
The second change must come in the midfield, with Ki Sung-yueng thoroughly disappointing in the close win. The £40,000-a-week [Spotrac] South Korean international was dreadful as he struggled to do the basics in the middle of the park. In his place should come Jonjo Shelvey, who must be given the opportunity to impress.
Isaac Hayden battled for the cause once again after putting in some vital tackles, while Miguel Almiron and Ayoze Perez were absolutely superb. Salomon Rondon was also excellent against Leicester and found himself unlucky not to be on the score sheet, hitting the cross bar with a fabulous effort.
If Benitez makes the right calls with his starting line up this Saturday, then there is no doubt that they would be able to smash the Saints with ease.
