Mauriccio Pochettino faces another stern test as he aims to show that he can pull Saints clear of the relegation fight.
In some respects this is the first big test of Mauriccio Pochettino's tactical nous and whether he is a pro active manager or a reactionary one, although this is his fifth match in charge the first four where merely a case of putting out virtually the same side barring injuries, now after a month to work with the squad and having seen them perform in different situations, he now has to show that he can pick the best team for the situation.
Although Newcastle are below us on goal difference, the fact is they have spent heavily in the transfer window and like Saints will be looking to start pulling clear of the melee at the bottom, so the task for MoPo will be to look at his side and adapt it to suit the opposition, merely going out and trying to outscore the opposition didnt work in the first third of the season and it wont work now, we need to adapt, so far Pochettino has shown that perhaps he is the man to do this, at both Man Utd and igan he wasnt afraid to haul off Jason Puncheon at half time and rejig his side, but now he needs to make sure that his side know what is expected of them and that they are able to produce otherwise our starting line up away from home might well be different to the one at St Mary's.
The big decision though is Gaston Ramirez, or maybe not, Ramirez has always been a luxury away from home and the odd game aside has often been a liability in games on the road where graft has been needed at key points ahead of guile sometime and I wouldnt be surprised if Ramirez was omitted from the side after his injury for the first time when he has actually been fit.
Rumours of certain players having to play have been around for three years, perhaps under the Argentinian we will find out if that is still the case, certainly if we are to continue our impovement then players have to be in the side on merit and not just because they are expensive signings.
I dont expect to see many changes in the starting line up at Newcastle from that that started against City, but the Toon could be a far different proposition at home and smelling blood than an indifferent Man City side last time out and its up to the manager to adapt his team to meet that challenge.
Perhaps Saints biggest obstacle is complacency amongst the fans, some are expecting miracles, but the fact is that league positions dont lie to any great degree, players dont just suddenly become Premiership quality overnight because the manager has changed and the squad Vgard Forrest aside is exactly the same one that has languished at or near the bottom for all of the season, so far we are out of the bottom three solely because we have beaten the sides down there with us at key times, Man City is still the only victory we have over teams above us at the moment and although Newcastle are now below us we need to keep them that way, there is a long way to go this season and we need to show we have the initiative and get something at St James Park to keep us at least four points above the bottom three.