Newcastle United will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to nine games when they travel to St Mary's to face Premier League strugglers Southampton on Sunday. The Magpies have collected five wins from their last six games (D1), and have won three matches on the spin to climb into the top four.
Southampton, in contrast, sit only one place outside of the bottom three and have registered just one victory from their last eight league outings (L5, D2). With Newcastle heading to Hampshire as favourites, here's a look at the pundit's predictions.
Mark Lawrenson
Lawrenson revealed on Paddy Power: "Newcastle are on a great, great run. But, you know what? Southampton got a good point at Arsenal a couple of games ago and I think this might be a draw."
Lawro's prediction: Southampton 1-1 Newcastle
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Chris Sutton
Sutton wrote in his BBC Sport column: "I love what Eddie Howe is doing at United. They have got a really nice balance to the team, and are stingy defensively. Howe has not just bought that improvement with the players he has signed - he is getting much more out of the United players who were already at St James' Park when he arrived 12 months ago.
"United striker Callum Wilson is one of them, and I think he must go to the World Cup with England. The worry with Wilson is always his injury problems, but he is fit and absolutely flying at the moment.
"Southampton are very up and down - I say that all the time, but the best example is how good they were in the second half against Arsenal recently, compared with how bad they had been before the break.
"That makes it very difficult to predict what we will see from Saints week-to-week, whereas United are on such a high at the moment and they have found some consistency that is helping them get these good results.
"Every time Miguel Almiron scores for United, Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish has to eat more humble pie after he joked about the Paraguayan at the end of last season - and I wouldn't be surprised if Grealish is tucking into another slice on Sunday night."
Sutton's prediction: Southampton 0-2 Newcastle
Paul Merson
The ex-Arsenal midfielder wrote on Sportskeeda: "Newcastle have a long way to go to secure their top-four finish. Their players are playing out of their skins at the moment, and I'm not sure how long that can go on. They're riding at the moment and if they win their next two matches, they could give themselves a solid chance.
"They need to decide whether they need to invest in their squad in the January transfer window. If they beat Chelsea next week, I think Newcastle will buy a few players and go after that top-four spot.
"Newcastle are playing really well at the moment. They've gone eight Premier League games without a single defeat, and their 2-1 loss to Liverpool was due to a late goal. I don't see anything but a Newcastle victory this weekend."
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