Newcastle travel south to take on Southampton in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday evening.
Goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton secured Newcastle's spot in the Carabao Cup semis in a 2-0 win over Leicester City in the quarter-finals, drawing the Magpies against Southampton who pulled off the shock of the last round, beating Manchester City 2-0. Defensively, Eddie Howe's side has been incredible recently, keeping six consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League.
But Newcastle have struggled for goals of late, with the Magpies scoring just once in their last four league games. Howe's side has already met the Saints once this season, winning 4-1 against Tuesday's hosts in November.
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So, could Newcastle take a step towards the Carabao Cup final at St. Marys on Tuesday? We simulated the game to get a score prediction and this is what happened.
Southampton vs Newcastle simulated to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions
We predict that the hosts could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Bazunu; Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Diallo, Lavia; Edozie, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo; Adams.
We predict that the Magpies could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock; Almiron, Wilson, Joelinton.
Newcastle managed to hold off any of the early threat offered by Southampton, with Nick Pope called into action twice in the opening stages of the half. After entering the break at 0-0, the Magpies started to find their feet going forward in the second half, and Howe's side took the lead 62 minutes in through Joe Willock.
Sean Longstaff broke the lines with a fizzed pass into Miguel Almiron's feet just outside the box, and the forward evaded two challenges before rolling a pass into the path of Willock. The midfielder took the ball in his stride as he galloped through the box, and from a tight angle, Willock powered his strike past the 'keeper at the near post to put his side ahead.
The Magpies sat back after scoring as they looked to see out the game, with Pope once again making some impressive saves to keep the clean sheet intact. And, in the 77th minute, Newcastle doubled their lead through an unusual Almiron goal.
After Wilson had a close-range effort tipped around the post, Kieran Trippier whipped the resulting corner into the box, finding Almiron at the front post. The Paraguayan flicked the ball towards goal, and his effort looped over the 'keeper, falling into the far corner of the net.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Southampton 0-2 Newcastle
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Newcastle could take a demanding lead into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash, beating Southampton 2-0 at St. Marys Stadium. The Magpies were solid at the back again as they kept another clean sheet, whilst Miguel Almiron was back to his best, scoring and assisting as Eddie Howe's side took a big step towards the final of the competition.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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