Newcastle United expected starting XI at Southampton - with Bruno Guimaraes call made

Eddie Howe’s side visit St Mary’s tonight - their first of three consecutive away games in just seven days.

And a win for the Magpies would see them go 10 points above the relegation zone.

Speaking about the journey to the South Coast, Howe said: “I think there’s a healthy pressure on us.

“From everybody connected with the team, we want the points and quick. I think that’s been the real feature of our recent games is that the lads haven’t dropped their focus on the back of good results.

“If anything, the focus has become more intense so that’s really pleased me. We know, when you’re in the Premier League, every fixture is difficult and we know we’ve got a difficult end to the season. Every game takes priority before that.

“You have to have the ability to adapt and to win in different ways. I think the winning ugly side of things I don’t think necessarily has been something we’ve done very well historically.

“It’s great to see us adding layers to our game and I think we’ve been a difficult team to play against in recent weeks.”

With Chelsea and Everton also to follow in quick succession, Howe will likely rotate his starting XI in order to deal with the physical demand.

But will that rotation begin at Southampton? Or will Howe name an unchanged line-up for the fourth game in a row?

Certainly, January signing Bruno Guimaraes is pushing for a start, while Allan Saint-Maximin is eyeing a return from the off.

Here’s the Newcastle United starting XI we expect Howe to name against Southampton.