Since this article was published, this game has been called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Newcastle squad. A new date for the game will be confirmed in due course.
Two sides rocked by absences in the double figures will aim to kick off 2022 on a high note this Sunday, as Southampton play host to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
The Saints held Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw in their midweek contest, while Eddie Howe's side saw their proposed meeting with Everton called off.
Match preview
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Despite being forced to play the entire second half a man down following Mohammed Salisu's sending off, Southampton dug deep to prevent a fatigued Tottenham travelling back to North London with all three points on Tuesday.
James Ward-Prowse's peach of a strike saw Southampton draw first blood before the ever-reliable Harry Kane levelled from the spot, and the beleaguered Saints largely had the efforts of 10-save goalkeeper Fraser Forster to thank for their point on home soil.
Southampton ended 2021 with four consecutive fixtures against London-based teams and picked up a respectable haul of five points in that period, with their recent solid streak seeing them sit 13th in the table and just that little bit clearer of the dreaded danger zone.
A paltry tally of one win from their last eight in the top flight will be of concern to Ralph Hasenhuttl, though, especially seeing as his side enter the new year with a treatment room full to the brim and COVID-19 still rearing its ugly head on the South Coast.
However, Southampton are unbeaten in six Premier League games at St Mary's and will relish the prospect of kicking off the New Year in front of their own supporters, that is if the encounter with a COVID-hit Newcastle does go ahead as scheduled.
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Barely 24 hours after holding Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at St James' Park – although it could and probably should have been more for the Magpies – Newcastle's Thursday night meeting with Everton was postponed after Eddie Howe had acted as the harbinger of doom.
With injuries and coronavirus taking their toll on the St James' Park crop, Newcastle could not field a team for their clash with the Toffees and ultimately ended an extremely eventful 2021 on a relative high note with their point versus the Red Devils.
However, many will feel that Monday's game was a missed opportunity to post another priceless win on the board, as Newcastle enter 2022 19th in the Premier League table and just one point clear of basement boys Norwich City.
As Newcastle fans already know, a New Year brings with it new opportunities to turn their fortunes around, and finally managing to win away from home would be an ideal starting point, as Howe's side have only taken three points from 27 on offer on the road so far.
The two clubs played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at St James' Park back in August, and Newcastle have actually come up trumps in four of their last six Premier League battles with Southampton, but they did lose 2-0 on the South Coast last term.
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Team News
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Southampton defender Salisu is joined on the naughty step this weekend by Kyle Walker-Peters, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against his former club in midweek.
Hasenhuttl will therefore be desperate to have Lyanco and Jack Stephens back from COVID-19 infection this weekend, especially with Valentino Livramento also struggling with a knee injury of undetermined severity.
Alex McCarthy, Nathan Tella, Che Adams and Will Smallbone are also among those likely to miss out on Sunday, but Oriol Romeu ought to be fit enough to return to the middle of the park.
As for the visitors, Howe lost key attackers Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin to injury in the draw with Man United, with the former now feared to be preparing for weeks or months on the sidelines.
Isaac Hayden is also a long-term absentee after undergoing knee surgery, joining Federico Fernandez, Jamal Lewis, Paul Dummett and Ryan Fraser in the treatment room. Fellow defender Javier Manquillo is also preparing to serve his yellow card suspension on Sunday.
While the club did not directly identify those impacted by the COVID-19 cluster, Karl Darlow, Joe Willock, Ciaran Clark and Matt Ritchie are believed to be among those affected, with Howe facing quite the quandary in defence.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Valery, Bednarek, Lyanco, Perraud; S. Armstrong, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Redmond; Broja, A. Armstrong
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Krafth, Schar, Lascelles, Murphy; Almiron, Longstaff, Hendrick, Shelvey, Joelinton; Gayle
We say: Southampton 2-0 Newcastle United
Without Wilson and Saint-Maximin leading the charge, Newcastle have lost a good chunk of their attacking bite and are facing an uphill battle even against this depleted Saints backline.
Hasenhuttl's side are not without their own selection concerns, but they tend to turn up the heat in front of their own supporters and can prolong Newcastle's away-day misery with a professional victory here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Southampton win with a probability of 51.01%. A draw had a probability of 26.7% and a win for Newcastle United had a probability of 22.34%.
The most likely scoreline for a Southampton win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.41%) and 2-1 (9.01%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.36%), while for a Newcastle United win it was 0-1 (8.48%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood.
