Newcastle head to St Mary’s Stadium this weekend in 20th place.
After a horrific start to the season, the pressure is mounting on the Magpies. Rafa Benitez’s side are yet to pick up a victory, sitting bottom of the pile with just two points.
The game against Brighton looked like a real chance for Newcastle to get their first win, but they fell to a 1-0 defeat.
In front of a disgruntled St James’ Park, Newcastle failed to prove that their terrible start was just down to hard fixtures.
Next up is another possible relegation rival in Southampton, where you’d think playing away from home would be an advantage.
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St Mary’s has not been kind to Newcastle
It might serve Newcastle well playing away from a hostile home crowd. However, away at Southampton has not been a nice fixture for the Magpies.
2004 was the last time Newcastle won at St Mary’s, while last season’s draw there ended a run of four straight defeats on the South Coast.
Since the Saints were promoted back to the Premier League, they are unbeaten at home to Newcastle. Two years in a row they smashed the Magpies 4-0, as the embarrassment in Southampton refused to go away.
While it wasn’t a win, last season was certainly a better performance.
Twice they led at St Mary’s, only to be pegged back by a Manolo Gabbiadini brace.
They’ll need a similar performance this season, only with a bit more rigid defending. If Newcastle fail to win, then the pressure will continue to mount.
Newcastle need to put their St Mary’s woes to the back of their minds, otherwise they’ll be bottom of the league for another week.
