EFL Cup

Stuart Attwell has his lips on the whistle tonight, and he will be assisted by Darren Cann and James Mainwaring. In the shadows is Thomas Bramall who will be doing fourth official duties.

Newcastle: 22 N. Pope, 2 K. Trippier, 5 F. Schär, 33 D. Burn, 4 S. Botman, 24 M. Almirón, 28 J. Willock, 39 Bruno Guimarães, 36 S. Longstaff, 9 C. Wilson, 7 Joelinton. Replacements: 19 Javi Manquillo, 12 J. Lewis, 10 A. Saint-Maximin, 23 J. Murphy, 32 E. Anderson, 26 K. Darlow, 11 M. Ritchie, 14 A. Isak, 6 J. Lascelles.

Southampton: 31 G. Bazunu, 6 D. Ćaleta-Car, 4 Lyanco, 2 K. Walker-Peters, 22 M. Salisu, 8 J. Ward-Prowse, 27 I. Diallo, 19 M. Djenepo, 26 C. Alcaraz, 11 M. Oršić, 18 S. Mara. Replacements: 3 A. Maitland-Niles, 13 W. Caballero, 24 M. Elyounoussi, 23 S. Edozie, 45 R. Lavia, 35 J. Bednarek, 10 C. Adams, 9 A. Armstrong, 15 R. Perraud.

Southampton have scalped Chelsea and Man City already in this League Cup, while Newcastle's most significant win was 2-0 over Leicester in the previous round.

Newcastle have only won two of their last five matches, but have only suffered one loss, in the FA Cup to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Saints are actually in decent form, despite their log position. Their Cup form certainly is good, with a 2-0 win over perennial League Cup winners Man City in the previous round of the competition and 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. They've won three of the last five matches are should be battle-ready tonight.

The Saints twice beat Newcastle 4-0 at St. Mary's, with both routings happening in 2014. Different time, same place… can' see it happening here, he said……

But tonight the Toon Army have a bigger fish in the pan, as it's a chance to push for silverware. For the neutrals it's great to see a fresh face destined for Wembley, nd on league form that's Newcastle… but haven't we all learned that league form can go fo a ball of chalk when it comes to Cup knock-out matches! So hang on to your hats as here are two super-hungry sides with all to play for lining up to do battle tonight.

Newcastle - revived by significant investment into the club - are reliving their greatest days by clawing away at the front-runners. They are 11 points behind leaders Arsenal… but that just takes two weekends of favourable results and Newcastle could be sniffing the Gunners' heels.

Southampton might be bottom of the Premier League but it's a congested old chap this year, with Southampton within two wins of 13th place.