Premier League: Newcastle United vs Southampton preview

Newcastle United can guarantee themselves a quiet last month of the season, all they need to do is beat Southampton at St. James' Park on Saturday. The reverse fixture, played in October, was a fierce and arid battle and it ended goalless. Last season the Magpies grabbed a 3-0 victory at home over the Saints with a double from Kenedy, while the match at St. Mary's ended 2-2 as Southampton fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 down. Overall, Newcastle have won just one of the last six direct matches, while Southampton have grabbed two victories out of those six games. Newcastle are heading towards a quiet season finale, they could survive in the Premier League even if they lose Saturday's game against Southampton, but such a result might complicate their situation quite a bit. The Magpies are currently in 15th place, seven points clear of 18th-placed Cardiff with four matches left in the season, so it would take a great winning streak from Cardiff to surpass Newcastle. Last week the Magpies grabbed a 1-0 victory at Leicester thanks to a first-half goal from Ayoze Perez. Sean Longstaff and Florian Lejeune are the only injury concerns for the home side. Southampton are just below Newcastle in the Premier League table, they are in sixteenth place and two points behind the Magpies, but they do have a game in hand. The Saints can count themselves almost safe from relegation, but they still need to collect at least four more points in the final five matches of the season to make sure. Last week they grabbed a good 3-1 home victory over Wolves, their third victory in the last four league matches. Yan Valery picked up an injury during that match and is a doubt for Saturday's game, while Michael Obafemi and Mario Lemina are both injured. Probable line-ups: Newcastle: Dubravka - Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie - Perez, Hayden, Saivet, Almiron - Rondon Southampton: Gunn - Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard - Valery, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Bertrand - Ings, Redmond My prediction: 1-1 draw, a share of the spoils suits both teams at this stage. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Newcastle win - 2.45 Draw - 3.25 Southampton win - 3.25