Newcastle United v Southampton Match Preview, 31/01/2023

Match Facts

1. Newcastle United have won seven of their last nine matches against Southampton (D1 L1), winning both games against them this season. They last beat a side three times in a season in 2016-17 against Preston, while as a Premier League side they have only done so once, versus Blackburn in 2011-12.
2. Southampton have won just one of their last 18 away games against Newcastle in all competitions (D4 L13), a 2-1 win in January 2015 in the Premier League. They’ve conceded in all 18 games, last keeping a clean sheet there in a 1-0 win in March 1997.
3. Holding a 1-0 first leg advantage, Newcastle are looking to reach their first major cup final since 1999, when they lost 2-0 to Man Utd in the FA Cup. Their last League Cup final appearance was in 1976 and should they qualify it would be the biggest gap between final appearances (47 years), breaking the record of 38 years set by Birmingham (1963-2001), Man City (1976-2014) and Southampton (1979-2017).
4. Southampton are looking to become only the third team to qualify for a League Cup final after losing the first leg at home, along with Stoke City vs West Ham in 1971-72 and Arsenal vs Spurs in 1986-87. Both Stoke and Arsenal went on to win the trophy in those years.
5. Newcastle United haven’t conceded a single goal in any of their last eight home games in all competitions, their longest run of consecutive home shutouts. The last Premier League side to keep more in a row on home soil was Chelsea between January and April 2014 (nine).
6. Nathan Jones has already been eliminated from the League Cup this season with Luton in the first round before joining Southampton. If they qualify, he will be only the third manager to be eliminated in a season but then reach a final, along with Gordon Lee in 1976-77 (eliminated with Newcastle, reached final with Everton) and Harry Redknapp in 2008-09 (eliminated with Portsmouth, reached final with Spurs).
7. Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope has kept four clean sheets in the League Cup this season – the last goalkeeper to keep five for a club in a single season was Kasey Keller in 1996-97, who kept six for Leicester City who won the competition that year.
8. Joelinton has scored in each of his last two League Cup appearances for Newcastle – the last Magpies player to net in three in a row was Shola Ameobi in September 2010.