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After scraping to Premier League safety under John Carver last term, much more will be expected of the Magpies under former England boss McClaren. Follow the match live right here
Image: Mark Runnacles)
Newcastle: Krul, Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara, Anita, Colback, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Obertan, Cisse
Subs: Darlow, Taylor, De Jong, Aarons, Perez, Mitrovic, Tiote
Southampton: Stekelenburg, Cédric, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett, Wanyama, S. Davis, Tadić, Mané, Rodriguez, Pellè
Subs: Gazzaniga, Long, Martina, Ward-Prowse, Reed, Juanmi, Caulker.
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11:59
Last season saw Newcastle retain their Premier League status on the very last day of the season, with a 2-0 win over West Ham.
That result ended a horrendous run of nine defeats and a draw.
The second half of the season was a disaster, but they got away with it.
But now, there are no excuses. They have a new manager - and a former England boss to boot - in the shape of Steve McClaren.
They have even spent some money - last month they paid PSV Eindhoven €20million to make Gini Wijnaldum the biggest signing of Mike Ashley’s eight-year ownership.
So the stage is set, and today’s opponents are Southampton - a tricky tie to start, but at home the Toon army will surely be expecting three points. Over to you, Steve...