Newcastle United will seek to strengthen their grip on the top four today with a routine win over Southampton, although Ruben Selles' men have shown a penchant for claiming big results in recent months.
Despite having recently lost to AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and West Ham United, these poor defeats were littered with battling draws against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and even the league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates.
Therefore, St James' Park will remain quietly confident, but wholly wary of the threat the travelling Saints will pose. Facing sides that are fighting for their lives is never easy for a European-chasing outfit, but the Magpies made light work of Everton on Thursday, suggesting they can do so again today against similarly poor opposition on paper.
Eddie Howe put out an initially questionable side for that trip to Goodison Park, opting to heavily alter the team that had won 6-1 previously against the Lilywhites.
One such change was to give in to calls that requested Matt Targett return to the side, with the left-back expected to offer more offensive impetus than Dan Burn had done. However, it quickly became clear that this was not the case, as the former Aston Villa defender did not impress on Merseyside.
Will Dan Burn start vs Southampton?
Having featured 32 times in the Premier League thus far, the 30-year-old has been imperative in the success that has the Toon Army marching towards Champions League football.
It was therefore a surprise to see him dropped for the 27-year-old Targett, who would earn a 6.3 rating throughout that clash, the lowest of any who started for the visitors. Not only was he anonymous going forward, but one particularly embarrassing moment came when Alex Iwobi left him for dead down his flank.
Aiming to commit a professional foul, he lacked the strength to thwart the Nigerian, yet was still booked for his efforts. Had that been Burn, there would have been no way the former Arsenal man was getting free of him with the ball or his legs intact.
It is this steeliness that merited such impressive defensive statistics for the 6 foot 6 machine, as he has averaged 1.6 tackles and three clearances per game via Sofascore.
Such fine form, that has extended over nearly a season and a half now, even spurred journalist Aaron Stokes to write: "How good of a signing is Dan Burn btw? Local lad, 10ft tall, solid as a rock and immense yet again. Fast becoming a fan favourite already."
The £35k-per-week ace might not be the most flashy of full-backs, but such solidity is a trait often overlooked in the modern game. In an effort to avoid any potential slip-ups against this wholly capable Saints outfit, Howe must recall Burn to dominate the visitors.
