Newcastle United vs Southampton Preview

Newcastle will look to qualify for the final round of the Carabao Cup this Tuesday when they take on Southampton at St. James’ Park in the second leg of the semifinals.

The Magpies put one foot in the final thanks to a 1-0 win over the Saints last time courtesy of a second-half goal by Joelinton. That result made it four games without defeat for Eddie Howe’s side who are in the midst of an incredible run of form this season.

Only Liverpool, in the Premier League and Sheffield United, in the FA Cup have beaten the hosts in any competition this season. Meanwhile, Newcastle’s main goalkeeper Nick Pope is currently on a career-best run of ten consecutive clean sheets and will be between the sticks here. So, the Magpies will come into this game high in confidence and will fancy their chances of making their first League Cup final appearance since 1976.

Meanwhile, Southampton bounced back from their slender 1-0 loss in the first leg in midweek when they beat Blackpool 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round. But that means they have had less time to prepare for this tie than Newcastle.

Regardless, they will be confident of getting a result having already beaten Manchester City in this competition. The visitors have recorded four of their first five victories under Nathan Jones in the domestic cup competitions.

In fact, the Saints are yet to draw a game under Jones (W5, L6), and having won from behind in their last two away trips, they can’t be ruled out of this tie despite the one-goal deficit.

The Saints’ record at St. James Park doesn’t inspire confidence. The visitors have a miserable record at St James’ Park, failing to keep a clean sheet across the last 18 H2Hs held there (W1, D4, L13).