Newcastle United and Burnley square off in the EFL Cup second round on Tuesday night having both endured a poor start to the new Premier League campaign.
The Magpies and the Clarets are two of five clubs to have lost each of their opening two fixtures in England's top flight.
Match preview
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Having been provided with a start of West Ham United and Aston Villa, Steve Bruce would have expected his Newcastle side to collect at least a point from those fixtures.
That was the minimum ask after retaining the majority of the squad which ended last season, but the Magpies have conceded six goals during back-to-back defeats.
Although Bruce can argue with justification that a couple of decisions have not gone his team's way, Newcastle have did not do enough to earn anything from either match.
Bruce will be optimistic that a home fixture against Southampton gives his players an opportunity to end their August schedule on a high note.
Nevertheless, focus will be on delivering a victory at St James' Park on Tuesday night against opponents who have suffered the same fate over the past two weeks.
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After taking an early lead against Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day, Burnley were in prime position to get their campaign off to the perfect start.
However, the Seagulls fought back to claim a 2-1 victory after the break, a result which was followed by a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday.
Burnley gave a relatively good account of themselves on Merseyside, troubling their hosts either side of Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane netting the decisive goals.
Nevertheless, the general consensus is that the Clarets will require fresh faces before the end of the transfer window if they are to keep themselves above the relegation zone.
Tuesday's fixture will mark the first time that these two clubs have ever met in the EFL Cup.
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Team News
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With just a three-day gap before the Southampton game, Bruce is likely to make sweeping changes to his Newcastle starting lineup.
Ryan Fraser, Joelinton and Dwight Gayle could form a front three, with Sean Longstaff and Jeff Hendrick being handed opportunities in the centre of the pitch.
Goalkeeper Mark Gillespie should feature between the sticks, while Emil Krafth and Ciaran Clark are in line to be recalled to the defence.
Wayne Hennessey and Nathan Collins will almost certainly make their first starts for Burnley after joining from Crystal Palace and Stoke City respectively.
Phil Bardsley, Erik Pieters and Jay Rodriguez should also come into the team, while Sean Dyche may decide to hand starts to at least one of the club's youngsters.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Gillespie; Krafth, Fernandez, Clark; Murphy, Longstaff, Hendrick, Lewis; Joelinton, Gayle, Fraser
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Bardsley, Collins, Mee, Dodgson; McNeil, Brownhill, Cork, Pieters; Rodriguez, Barnes
We say: Newcastle United 2-1 Burnley
While both managers will inevitably rotate for this fixture, we still expect a hard-fought contest.
However, Newcastle's greater strength-in-depth could prove key and we fancy the home side to run out narrow victors at St James' Park.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newcastle United win with a probability of 37.8%. A win for Burnley had a probability of 37.7% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newcastle United win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.69%) and 2-0 (5.69%). The likeliest Burnley win was 1-2 (8.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.35%).
