Sunday’s opening salvo delivers a pair of intriguing match-ups: there’s more than local pride at stake as the relegation-threatened Newcastle and Sunderland scrap it out at St James’ Park, while Southampton play host to an effervescent Liverpool outfit.
The Black Cats emerged victorious in the last six Tyne-Wear derbies but have registered a solitary win in their previous eight outings. That being said, only three teams mustered more attempts than Sunderland (62) in their past four head-to-heads, which bodes well for their attacking potential. Shifting our focus onto the Magpies, they managed a paltry three goals in their previous six outings and have just one clean sheet to their name in 14 fixtures.
At the Stadium of Light, Southampton will strive to stifle a Reds side that racked up 13 goals in their last quartet of matches. Balancing out their attacking exploits, Jurgen Klopp’s outfit also conceded the joint-second-fewest goals (three), second-fewest shots inside the box (16) and joint-second-fewest big chances (three). Investors in Liverpool’s defence will draw encouragement from the fact that Saints posted just six goals across the last seven Gameweeks.
