Paul Merson expects Newcastle United will 'slaughter' Southampton as he makes his score prediction ahead of Saturday's game

Newcastle United need a big, convincing win to prove that last week's 4-1 defeat to Bournemouth was an anomaly rather than the beginning of a slide.

Fortunately, the Magpies' next opponents are Southampton who have picked up just one win all season. It may be an away game for Newcastle, but the venue shouldn't matter when the disparity between the two sides is this big.

Indeed, Newcastle had been unstoppable on the road before being hammered at home by Bournemouth, so perhaps an away day is what we need.

In truth, any kind of win would be good, even if we scrape a 1-0 victory. But to put the nightmare of Bournemouth behind us, a convincing win would certainly go a long way.

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Paul Merson expects Alexander Isak to return to his scoring ways

Paul Merson has written his score prediction for Sportskeeda and the former Arsenal man fully expects Newcastle to give the Saints a pasting on Saturday.

"Newcastle losing 4-1 at home to Bournemouth shows how difficult it is to make accurate predictions in the Premier League. Let's be honest, even a loyal Bournemouth fan did not see that coming! But if you're Newcastle, you can't ask for a better game than this to get back on track.

"If Southampton had taken their chances, they could have gotten a result against Manchester United. But that shows how bad United are and not the other way around. I expect Newcastle to slaughter them. I just can't see Alexander Isak not scoring against Southampton.

"Eddie Howe wouldn't have been happy with the loss to Bournemouth. If you look at Liverpool or Arsenal, you wouldn't expect them to lose 4-1 at home when they are in the middle of a dream run. Newcastle must change that about them and I expect them to bounce back in style.

"Prediction: Southampton 0-4 Newcastle United"

A big win would correct the goal difference after last week's heavy defeat

A 4-0 win would be ideal for Newcastle to correct the goal difference from last week's horrendous game and it would certainly give the lads a big boost after that deflating defeat.

Newcastle have had a week to recover after that game, a luxury that hasn't been afforded them often in the last couple of months, but a three-game week can't be used as an excuse when you're chasing a place in Europe where three-game weeks are the norm.

Saturday at 3pm is when we start to get our season back on track. HOWAY THE LADS.