Southampton vs Newcastle United preview: How to watch, kick-off time, team news, predicted lineups and ones to watch

Southampton and Newcastle are usually two sides that you would associate with the bottom half of the Premier League table - but on Friday night - one of these teams is likely to be occupying a spot in the top four of the division.

The Saints come into this fixture after an impressive 4-3 victory away at Aston Villa - and since their damning 5-2 home defeat to Tottenham at the start of September - have racked up four wins in their last five league games.

The Magpies are also arriving into this game off the back of a victory, with there's being a 2-1 win against high-flying Everton.

With just one league defeat in September, which came against Manchester United, there is growing optimism on Tyneside that Newcastle can continue to push further up the Premier League table, starting with three points against Ralph Hasenhuttl's men.

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Team news - Southampton

Saints star man Danny Ings suffered a knee injury during Sunday's win at Villa Park that will keep him sidelined for the next four to six weeks.

Youngsters Jake Vokins and Will Smallbone have both been ruled out by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Jan Bednarek is a doubt for tomorrow's game with a face injury picked up in training.

Defenders Ryan Bertrand and Mohamed Saisu are both unlikely to feature in the clash at St Mary's tomorrow

Ibrahima Diallo will be subject to a late fitness test tomorrow to see if he can play after suffering a dead leg in training during the week.

Team news - Newcastle United

Jonjo Shelvey is still three to four weeks away from a return after the midfielder underwent successful surgery on his groin last week.

Martin Dubravka, Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle all remain ruled out with injuries that have kept them out of contention since the start of the season.

Previous meeting

The last time The Saints and The Magpies faced each other was in March this year, where Newcastle ran out 1-0 winners at St Mary's.

On 28 minutes, the game changed dramatically as Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo was sent off for a reckless challenge on Isaac Hayden.

Just before half time, Newcastle were awarded a penalty after Sofiane Boufal was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box by VAR.

Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who had an outstanding first half, kept out lifelong Portsmouth fan Matt Ritchie's penalty to keep the game level at the break.

But with just 11 minutes left in the match, Allan Saint-Maximin gave Newcastle lead when he pounced on a Yan Valery mistake before slotting past McCarthy.

The victory for Steve Bruce's side all but secured their place in the Premier League for the 2020/21 season.

Ones to watch

After two stunning free-kicks against Aston Villa last Sunday, James Ward-Prowse is heading into this game against Newcastle in the form of his life.

The England midfielder has been influential towards Southampton's impressive start to the season, scoring three and assisting one in the opening seven Premier League games, and is the first name on the team sheet for Saints boss Ralph Hassenhuttl.

The 26-year-old will be looking to gather momentum from tomorrow's game to take into Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad, where the playmaker has been called up to face the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.

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One man who was unfortunate to have not been called up for the recent England squad is Callum Wilson, who has enjoyed a blistering start to the season with his new club.

The 28-year-old has notched six goals in seven league appearances for The Toon, and most recently scored the two decisive goals to beat Everton on Sunday.

Wilson will be desperate to return to the south coast tomorrow, a place where he spent six years on when he was at Bournemouth, and show Southgate exactly what he was missing in not picking him for England duty.

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