Premier League updates from the 5.30pm BST kick-offSign up and get The Fiver, our free daily football emailEmail Barry or tweet @bglendenning your thoughts 4.54pm BST Meanwhile in Wolverhampton: Brighton have stopped the rot and secured a precious point against Wolves on the back of scoreless draw at Molineux. It leaves them three points clear of Cardiff, who are currently third from bottom, and just two behind Southampton, who are in sixteenth place. 4.34pm BST Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie, Perez, Ki, Hayden, Almiron, Rondon.Subs: Shelvey, Diame, Muto, Fernandez, Yedlin, Darlow, Atsu. 4.33pm BST Mohamed Diame is back in contention for a first team place after coming on as a late substitute in Newcastle’s win over Leicester. The midfielder will trigger an automatic one-year extension in his contract if he starts two of Newcastle’s remaining five games, but is understood to want a two-year deal and might prefer to leave on a free transfer in the summer instead. Sean Longstaff and Florian Lejeune remain sidelined. For Southampton, Michael Obafemi and Mario Lemina are both out, although the latter is back training with the first team after recovering from an abdominal injury. Central defender Jannik Westergard was due to undergo a late fitness test to see if he is sufficiently recovered from a groin strain, while right-wing-back Yan Valery was forced off with cramp in Southampton’s win over Wolves but is expected to be OK to play today. 3.25pm BST While it seems highly unlikely that either of these sides will be relegated come season’s end, neither are mathematically safe both could do with a win to allay any remaining fears or jitters. Newcastle fans are more concerned about the future of their manager Rafael Benitez at their club - the Spaniard is out of contract at the end of the season and has recently been dropping sledgehammer subtle hints that won’t be inclined to sign a new one until he receives assurances that he’ll be given funds to make his team more competitive.Southampton managers are similarly enamoured with their manager, Ralph Hassenhuttl, who has made himself very popular indeed at Saint Mary’s and today his side will attempt to record a fourth win in their past five games. Kick-off is at 5.30pm BST, but stay tuned for team news and build-up in the meantime. Continue readingreadfullarticle
