Southampton will seek to give their survival hopes a huge boost on Sunday when they travel away to face off with high-flying Newcastle United in round 34 of the English Premier League. Southampton come to this match sitting rock bottom in the standings and six points away from safety and with five matches left to play, need to start winning quickly, Newcastle on the other hand are chasing a Champions League slot and are currently third on the table. Newcastle have improved by leaps and bounds as just last season they finished 11th with 49 points. This season, Eddie Howe’s men have shuttered this tally and come to this match with 62 points. The last time they had this many points, they finished fifth during the 2011/12 season which is also the last campaign in which they finished in the top half of the table. The Magpies arrive for this match in splendid form with seven wins from their last eight matches and have won their last two games by scoring a combined 10 goals. They thumped Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 last weekend and followed that up with a 4-1 win over relegation candidates Everton in midweek. This has allowed them to peel away from fourth-placed Manchester United who are two points behind and they will hope to maintain this gap if not extend it.
Southampton need to pick up, at the very least, seven points from the 15 they have left to play for and at the same time hope that the three teams immediately above them do not equal or better their efforts if they are to survive. Ruben Selles’ men have been the season’s whopping boys and have lost the most number of matches with 21. This has put their 11-year stay in the Premier League in considerable threat. They come to this match without a win in their last four matches but should be confident of a result here as the last three matches in which they have been able to avoid defeat, have come on the road. They drew 3-3 with Arsenal last time out on the road and before that had held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw. The Saints’ last win came away to Chelsea. Southampton have been woeful against Newcastle and are without a win against them in six straight matches so to win here they have to be in the best form they have been all season.
Both these teams need maximum points to help boost their causes at opposite ends of the table but with their contrasting forms, there is only one way that this match can end. Our prediction for Newcastle United v Southampton is for the home team to win.