Newcastle United vs Southampton

St James’ Park is the venue as Newcastle United and Southampton go head-to-head in the return leg of their League Cup semi-final tie.

Joelinton’s strike midway through the second half handed Newcastle United a vital 1-0 first-leg advantage at St Mary’s Stadium last time out, with the ‘Magpies’ putting one foot in what would be their first appearance in the League Cup showpiece since 1976. Following an underwhelming 2-1 defeat to second-tier Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round, this is Newcastle’s best chance to wrap up their first major silverware since 1969. Since that loss, Eddie Howe’s men have gone unbeaten in four consecutive matches in all competitions (W3, D1), keeping a clean sheet on each occasion. Topically, Newcastle’s water-tight defense has not conceded in any of their last eight competitive home outings, bolstering the hosts’ bid to maintain an outrageous nine-game form against Southampton (W7, D1, L1).

On the other hand, Southampton edged Championship outfit Blackpool 2-1 at home in last weekend’s FA Cup third-round tie to boost their spirits ahead of this trip. Nathan Jones’ men face an uphill task to become only the third side in League Cup history to overturn a first-leg home deficit to reach the final. Indeed, the ‘Saints’ have picked up just one victory in their last 18 away encounters against Newcastle in all competitions (D4, L13), highlighting the size of the task ahead of Jones’ players. Bucking that trend would see Southampton qualify for their first-ever League Cup final, and the visitors have a reason to hope. After losing three successive away matches, they’ve won the last two via an identical 2-1 scoreline, coming from behind to prevail on both occasions.