Virgil van Dijk has returned to the Southampton side (Picture: REUTERS/Darren Staples)

There is an intriguing Premier League contest on Sunday afternoon as Southampton host Newcastle at St Mary’s.

Both teams have made a very solid start to the season and it seems like mid-table respectability is on the cards for the Saints and the Magpies.

However, both sides will have more lofty aims than that and they will see a win this weekend as a springboard for a potential push towards the European places.

Newcastle have a dreadful recent record against Southampton, with the last six fixtures producing two draws and four defeats.

Rafael Benitez is working wonders with Newcastle (Picture: Getty Images)

When is Southampton vs Newcastle?

The match is on Sunday, October 15 with kick-off at 4pm.

What TV channel is Southampton vs Newcastle on?

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League will be showing the game live with coverage from 3.30pm.

Jonjo Shelvey should be fit for the Magpies (Picture: Getty Images)

What are the odds? (Courtesy of Betfair)

Southampton – 20/23

Draw – 13/5

Newcastle – 15/4

Team news

Southampton look to have a relatively clean bill of health with Shane Long and Matt Targett expected to recover in time from hip and ankle injuries respectively.

Newcastle are also expected to have Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Ritchie and Christian Atsu available despite recent problems, although Paul Dummett and Massadio Haidara remain sidelined.

Head-to-head in last five meetings

09 Apr 2016 – Southampton 3-1 Newcastle (Long, Pelle, Wanyama) (Townsend)

09 Aug 2015 – Newcastle 2-2 Southampton (Cisse, Wijnaldum) (Pelle, Long)

17 Jan 2015 – Newcastle 1-2 Southampton (Gouffran) (Elia x2)

13 Sep 2014 – Southampton 4-0 Newcastle (Pelle x2, Cork, Schneiderlin)

29 Mar 2014 – Southampton 4-0 Newcastle (Rodriguez x2, Lambert, Lallana)

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