Newcastle United will host newly promoted Southampton in their Premier League opener at St James’ Park this afternoon.
The Magpies return to action this afternoon and will be hoping to secure a convincing victory against their Southern visitors to put three important points on their tally.
A seventh-place finish in the top-flight following Champions League qualification the season before was a blow to the progress made by Newcastle, however, missing out on European football gives the club a great opportunity to dominate domestically.
Eddie Howe will feel confident after a successful preseason with his squad and keen to get the ball rolling with a few new additions potentially making their mark on the team on Tyneside today.
John Ruddy, Odysseas Vlachodimos, William Osula and Lloyd Kelly have all joined the project in the North East, while Lewis Hall completed his permanent move to the club after impressing whilst on a season-long loan.
In terms of injuries, the Toon aren’t without their ongoing fitness issues to key players with Sven Botman still recovering from his ACL surgery, while club captain Jamaal Lascelles also remains in recovery from ACL surgery.
Lewis Miley is nursing an ankle/foot injury and Callum Wilson is expected to not be available due to problems with his lower back, however, a huge boost is the passed fitness test of centre-back Fabian Schar, who. after picking up a knock in preseason, is expected to be available for selection today.
How could Newcastle line up against Southampton?
Here is how Nothing But Newcastle expects Newcastle to line up against Southampton this afternoon at St James’ Park…
Despite a number of new faces, we expect the Newcastle boss to stick with what he knows in the majority of his starting eleven, maintaining his usual set up of a 4-3-3 formation.
In goal, Nick Pope is nailed on to make a popular return to the goalkeeper role after spending the best part of last season recovering from a dislocated shoulder.
In defence, the Magpies will be without Botman so we expect to see Dan Burn and Fabian Schar forming the centre-back partnership, while Kieran Trippier could get the nod over Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall will adopt the role of left-back in place of Burn.
In the centre of the pitch, it will be business as usual with Brazilian star Bruno Guimaraes sitting in front of the back four in the deep-lying role of midfield, while his compatriot Joelinton will feature alongside local lad Sean Longstaff to form a tenacious trio against Russell Martin’s side.
In the attacking threat, we predict that Alexander Isak will lead the line in his undisputed number nine role, while England international Anthony Gordon and Magpies mainstay Jacob Murphy will be either side of the Swedish sensation to combine their efforts to kill the game quickly.
With that being said, nothing short of three points should be expected with the quality and talent available to Newcastle at St James’ Park today and would set a great start for the season ahead.
