Dugout Discussion – Southampton vs Newcastle

Gameweek 8 rolls on with an encounter at St Mary’s as Newcastle make the long-trip from Tyneside to take on Southampton.

In Fantasy terms, it’s fair to say that most managers would welcome a goalless draw; in both cases, it’s the defences that boast the greater Fantasy ownership.

Rob Elliot heads into today’s encounter backed by over 1.3 million managers, although 80% of those have chosen to bench the Newcastle keeper. This despite Southampton’s dismal record of scoring in just one of their last nine home matches – a 3-2 win over West Ham United in Gameweek 2.

Chancel Mbemba and Jamaal Lascelles are the other popular assets on show for the Magpies, claiming ownerships of 13.2% and 11.2% respectively. The latter takes his place in central defence alongside the recalled Florian Lejeune, though Mbemba is again out of the matchday squad following recent international exertions with DR Congo.

Further forward, both Matt Ritchie (4.9%) and Christian Atsu (4.2%) are named in Rafa Benitez’s line-up, despite having been withdrawn from their international squads.

For the Saints, Ryan Bertrand (10.9%) and Cedric (9.3%) are their most popular options on show as they go in search of a fourth clean sheet of the season.