🏆 Southampton (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & prediction

Our first semi-final appearance for 18 years and the first of two huge games against Southampton as Eddie Howe's Mags head to Southampton.

A long trip for the travelling Toon Army but one that will be well worth effort if we can return to Tyneside with a positive result ahead of the second leg at St James' Park.

Saturday's 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace was our third stalemate in our last four games. We controlled the game, played some nice stuff at times and looked superb defensively yet again, but our lack of cutting edge in the final third and inability to create any big openings was a concern.

I wouldn't say we look particularly tired, however we do look like a side in need of some added spark and fresh ideas in attack, with goals drying up for Miguel Almiron, Bruno Guimaraes forced to play deep and Callum Wilson looking sluggish after a period of illness has seen him miss big chunks of training.

At the other end, Nick Pope's stunning late save made it NINE clean sheets on the spin in all competitions. Believe it or not, he's not conceded a goal since Southampton's consolation strike in a 4-1 win at St Mary's way back in November.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's cup clash, here's what Howe's had to say:

"The semi-final itself isn't enough. I don't think it's enough for anybody. You go into these games & to say that you got to a semi-final means nothing ultimately. You want to get one step further and I know the players feel the same.

"We want it to be a tie for the supporters. The only way we can guarantee that is by performing at our best. The home game will also be a very special night. Our job is to make sure we are in a good position going into it.

"We're desperate for the next step but we have to take our mind off that and focus on the job and that is to go to Southampton and perform."

Team news

Bruno Guimaraes came through Saturday's draw unscathed, with Howe insisting he was '100% fit' to play after an ankle scare.

Jonjo Shelvey (calf), Matt Targett (heel) and Emil Krafth (ACL) have been ruled out, while Martin Dubravka is cup tied after featuring in the competition for Man Utd.

For the hosts, centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap will be missing, but Polish defender Jan Bednarek could feature after being recalled from a loan spell at Aston Villa.

Predicted line ups

(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Bruno, Joelinton – Almiron, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Howe selected the same unchanged side that drew 0-0 at Palace, but I do wonder if it's time to shake things up.

Our form remains rock solid, however Wilson continued to look a few levels below his best over the weekend and could probably do with a rest after struggling with illness since returning from the World Cup.

However, Howe's comments in his Monday morning presser suggested a reluctance to throw Isak in from the start after a limited amount of training time.

As for Allan Saint-Maximin, the boss said he is now in 'peak physical shape' ahead of the game, so I'm backing the Frenchman to come in for Joe Willock, meaning Joelinton could be on the left-side of a midfield three to plug any defensive gaps ASM may leave.

Prediction

Southampton were outstanding in the last round, conceding zero shots on goal in a 2-0 win over Man City.

They've won three of their last four games, but are bottom for a reason and come up against a highly-motivated Newcastle side who beat them 4-1 when the two sides met in the Premier League in November.

Wilson to end his eight-game run without a goal and hand the Toon a big advantage heading into next week's return leg on Tyneside.

Prediction: Southampton 0-1 Newcastle