Southampton will be looking to extend their five-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League when Newcastle United visit St. Mary’s on Friday night.
A run of four wins and a draw have seen Saints climb to fifth in the table – three points behind frontrunners Liverpool – while Newcastle are two points behind in eleventh place.
Southampton’s hot streak began with back-to-back victories over Burnley and West Brom, before a 3-3 draw against Chelsea.
Saints returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Everton a fortnight ago, before securing a dramatic 4-3 victory over Aston Villa last time out.
Southampton raced into a 4-0 lead inside 60 minutes, with James Ward-Prowse scoring two direct free-kicks, as well as assisting Jannik Vestergaard. Danny Ings also got on the scoresheet.
However, a late rally from Villa and a collapse from Southampton saw the hosts score three second-half goals and almost snatch a draw in stoppage time.
Still, Saints managed to hold on to claim all three points, meaning they have now only lost two of their previous 14 Premier League games.
It is also worth pointing out that Southampton have scored over 1.5 goals in each of their last four home games in England’s top-flight.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have also been enjoying a decent start to the season, losing juts one of their last seven games in all competitions.
The Magpies booked their spot in the EFL Cup quarter-finals at the end of September, before picking up Premier League wins over Burnley and Everton and a draw with Wolves.
Last time out, a Callum Wilson double handed Newcastle a 2-1 victory over the Toffees. Despite seeing just 37% possession, Steve Bruce’s side held on to claim all three points.
Newcastle have only lost two of their seven Premier League games this term, meaning the Magpies already sit eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Of course, it is still early days. But Newcastle already look set to improve on last season’s efforts and move up the table.
Head-to-head: Surprisingly, Newcastle have secured three straight wins over Southampton in the Premier League.
The Magpies are also unbeaten in their previous six top-flight meetings with Saints, although Southampton were unbeaten in the six meetings prior to that.
Team news: Unfortunately, Southampton’s top scorer Danny Ings will be out for up to six weeks due to injury. He joins Ryan Bertrand on the sidelines.
Newcastle are likely to be without Martin Dubravka, Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey on Friday.
Newcastle’s recent record in this fixture is good, although it is very difficult to ignore Southampton’s current form.
Forebet predicts that Southampton will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory over the Magpies on Friday.