Newcastle United’s next game is away to Southampton – a fixture that has added importance because of previous comments from Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.
The Magpies were meant to face Southampton at St Mary’s months ago. The fixture was initially scheduled for January 2nd 2022. However, it was called off at the request of Eddie Howe’s side.
This was the time when COVID cases were grinding the Premier League to a halt, much to the anger of opposition managers.
Newcastle had two games called off for this – their trips to Everton and Southampton were put on hold and are now set to take place this month.
But while pretty much every club had games postponed because of COVID, Hasenhuttl took issue with the Newcastle cancellation.
All the talk before Christmas was about how the Magpies were going to use the January transfer window to save their season. And the rearrangement of the Southampton game meant that Newcastle could effectively have a whole new team when they took on the Saints – something that irked their manager.
What Ralph Hasenhuttl said back in January
“We discussed during the Premier League meeting what would happen with January signing during the postponed games,” Hasenhuttl said.
“Would they be allowed to play or not? It is not for us to say.
“We could be the same. With our new owners, we could sign a few players and it would not really be fair to use them in games that have been postponed.”
With Hasenhuttl’s comments in mind, we’ve decided to predict Newcastle’s starting XI for Thursday night if the Austrian boss got his wish.
Of course, Southampton will have to bring back their old owners for the fixture, following their own change of ownership on January 4th.
Two changes in defence
Ideally it would be three changes in defence, but Kieran Trippier is still injured regardless.
But if Hasenhuttl had his wish, Dan Burn and Matt Targett would be unavailable on Thursday too. Luckily, Newcastle have options to replace them.
Burn’s replacement would be obvious – the captain Jamaal Lascelles is waiting eagerly on the bench as Burn and Fabian Schar play so well together.
The other player who would have to drop out is Matt Targett. Then it would be up to Eddie Howe to choose between Paul Dummett and Javi Manquillo. We’ve gone with the former, simply because he’s more suited to the position.
No new signings in midfield? No problem for Newcastle
Newcastle wouldn’t need to change a thing in midfield. That’s because our current central options are doing so well that Bruno Guimaraes can’t get in the side.
The trio of Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton are unstoppable at the moment, and three examples of the incredible work Howe has done.
Outsiders might point at the investment, but the truth behind Newcastle’s resurgence is the remarkable improvement in players who were already at the club.
Allan Saint-Maximin leads the line
The only real problem for Newcastle would be up front. Callum Wilson remains injured, while Chris Wood would be ineligible in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s fantasy world.
That means Howe would either have to call upon Dwight Gayle, a player who’s barely featured since the change of manager, or deploy Allan Saint-Maximin as a central striker.
The latter would be the best option, given how well he did in that role previously under Steve Bruce.
While new recruits would be missing, this side could still give Southampton a game. If Howe was really brave, he’d pick this side on Thursday just to prove a point.
Dubravka; Krafth, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett; Murphy, Willock, Shelvey, Joelinton, Fraser; Saint-Maximin.
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