Newcastle United face a tough trip to Southampton on Thursday night as Eddie Howe's side look to make it nine games unbeaten in the Premier League.
In the space of a few weeks, Newcastle have moved away from the relegation zone and now sit seven points clear of the bottom three, with the Magpies having won five of their last six Premier League games. Only Liverpool have won more points in the league during that period, with Newcastle beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 in their last outing.
Ryan Fraser continued his impressive run of form as he scored the first and assisted the second against the Seagulls last weekend, with the Scotsman being deployed on the left in place of the injured Allan Saint-Maximin. The French winger made a brief cameo off the bench against Brighton, but Howe has confirmed he may not be fit enough to start on Thursday.
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Howe said: "Allan is not 100% fit. "He did one day of training, his first in three weeks, before the previous game. We are very keen to have him back and back at his best.
"When he came on against Brighton he did well and a key moment gave us a lift. We are trying to build up his fitness and he's nearly there."
Matt Ritchie will return to the Newcastle squad on Thursday after a spell on the sidelines, and Bruno Guimaraes may make his first start for the Magpies against the Saints, with the Brazilian having been limited to short appearances off the bench. Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier both remain out.
So, what line-ups will both teams select? And, what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Southampton vs Newcastle on Thursday and this is what happened...
Southampton vs Newcastle score predicted by simulation
To get a score prediction, we used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, letting the AI play against each other. We then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself.
We predict that the Saints could set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Forster; Livramento, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Armstrong, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi; Adams, Broja.
We predict that Newcastle could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Dubravka; Manquillo, Lascelles, Burn, Targett; Guimaraes, Shelvey, Joelinton; Murphy, Wood, Fraser.
The game started off slow, with neither side able to carve out a clear-cut chance. Southampton came closest when Che Adams tried his luck from a tight angle, but his effort lacked finesse and bounced past the post.
Newcastle took control of the game after the early scare from the home side, and the Saints failed to register a shot for the remainder of the half as the Magpies defended well. Guimaraes and Shelvey were resilient in midfield, but Newcastle were poor in the final third.
Joelinton had the best chance for Newcastle in the first half when he tried his luck from 25 yards out, but the Brazilian's effort rose over the bar. Jonjo Shelvey then stung the gloves of Fraser Forster early in the second half, an encouraging sight for Howe.
A cross from the right was floated into the near post for Chris Wood to attack, but Saints cleared their lines only as far as Shelvey on the edge of the box. The midfielder plucked the ball out of the air and hit a fierce half-volley towards goal, but Forster was equal to the effort and pushed his strike wide of the post.
The pressure continued from the visitors, with Fraser and Joelinton both missing decent chances for an opener. Saint-Maximin was introduced with 15 minutes remaining, and his first cross into the box almost led to a goal.
The Frenchman beat his marker down the left and whipped a cross for Wood to attack, and the striker managed to loop his header towards the back post, but the large frame of Forster tipped the ball over the bar.
Southampton had just one shot in the second half as Newcastle dominated the game, but the Magpies failed to take advantage of their control, with the match ending 0-0.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Southampton 0-0 Newcastle
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that despite a disciplined, controlling performance, Newcastle could fall short of victory at Southampton, with a lack of cutting edge in attack leading to a 0-0 draw to the Magpies. Howe's side could limit the hosts to a couple of shots in a strong defensive display, but a lack of composure in front of goal could prove the difference between one point and three on Thursday.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
FIFA 22 is available now on all platforms, including PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, PC and Stadia.
