The bottom-placed Saints have performed well below-par this campaign. With just 15 points from 20 games, they are placed at the 20th spot in the table.
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Newcastle United and Southampton face-off in an intriguing EFL Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday night. Both teams are inching closer to the all-important final. Despite having crucial Premier League assignments coming their way, these two sides will be focused entirely on the cup tie for now. However, it is unclear if they will give a break to their first-team players for this match or will they name strong starting line-ups. Even though league commitments are important for any side, the possibility of having a place in the final cannot be taken lightly.
It goes without saying that both teams have crucial assignments in the league. Newcastle United have punched above weight to reach the third position in the Premier League table, which they would be keen to maintain. Not many gave Newcastle much chance at the start of the campaign to finish in the top four positions. However, they are deservedly sitting in the third spot with 39 points from 20 games. They have lost only once in the Premier League all season and have shipped out just 11 goals in the league, which is the best record among the 20 teams in the division.
On the other hand, Southampton’s immediate priority would be to move out of the relegation zone. The bottom-placed Saints have performed well below-par this campaign. With just 15 points from 20 games, they are placed at the 20th spot in the table. They are in serious trouble at this moment and would need to produce a good run of results quickly to climb out of the dreaded relegation zone.
Read More – Southampton vs Newcastle United: Records, Stats, Goals, Head to Head & everything to know
A cup semifinal cannot be taken lightly by any side, however, these two sides have important goals to achieve in the Premier League. While Newcastle United are fighting hard to stay in the top four positions, Southampton will be keen to move out of the bottom spot in the league standings. Hence, it will be interesting to see if both sides will name strong line-ups for this contest.
Valentino Livramento and Juan Larios will miss this match for Southampton, however, there are some question marks over the availability of a few players. Theo Walcott, Alex McCarthy and Armel Bella-Kotchap’s participation in this game in not yet certain. On the other hand, it remains to be seen if Bruno Guimaraes is risked for this game or will he be benched. However, they will miss Matt Targett, Jonjo Shelvey and Emil Krafth for this match.
Southampton possible line-up: Bazunu, Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Salisu, Walker-Peters, Diallo, Lavia, Ward-Prowse, Edozie, Djenepo, Adams
Newcastle United possible line-up: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, Joelinton, Isak
Southampton
| Opponents | Score |
| Aston Villa | 0-1 (L) |
| Everton | 1-2 (W) |
| Manchester City | 2-0 (W) |
| Crystal Palace | 1-2 (W) |
| Nottingham | 0-1 (L) |
Newcastle
| Opponents | Score |
| Crystal Palace | 0-0 |
| Fulham | 1-0 (W) |
| Leicester | 2-0 (W) |
| Sheffield Wed | 2-1 (L) |
| Arsenal | 0-0 |
| Last 5 matches (all competitions) | Results |
| Southampton lose to Newcastle | 1-4 |
| Southampton lose to Newcastle | 1-2 |
| Newcastle draw Southampton | 2-2 |
| Newcastle beat Southampton | 3-2 |
| Southampton beat Newcastle | 2-0 |
The EFL Cup match between Southampton and Newcastle United will take place at St. Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday at 1:30 am IST.
The EFL Cup match between Southampton and Newcastle United can be seen on Sky Ultra HD, SKY GO Extra, TalkSport Radio UK, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event, BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom.
