Given their terrible start to the season, Southampton will view Newcastle United’s Premier League trip to St. Mary’s on Saturday as a great opportunity to pick up their first home win of the term.
The Magpies find themselves at the bottom of the table having failed to claim a single victory nine games into the campaign and look to be in real danger.
As a result, manager Rafael Benitez could start to make some changes to his team, which could see someone such as Christian Atsu introduced into the starting XI.
And if so, the Ghana international could come up against Ryan Bertrand at some point during the game.
Christian Atsu
Capable of playing on either flank, Atsu is a winger who possesses much pace and would probably fancy his chances in a foot race against a full-back like Bertrand.
What is significantly lacking from the former Chelsea and Porto man’s game, however, is his final ball.
While Atsu does manage to arrive in dangerous areas of the pitch, he struggles when it comes to executing the necessary pass to the edge of the area or cross into the box.
In contrast, Kenedy and Matt Ritchie — Newcastle’s first-choice wide men — tend to have much better luck in that department or at least make the better decision in those areas.
However, sooner or later, Benitez will have to try something different if results stay the same, and Atsu is just one alternative option the Spaniard can turn to.
TT Grade: C
Ryan Bertrand
If Atsu does feature on Saturday and ends up having to face Bertrand, then a difficult task awaits him.
Bertrand is one of the most complete full-backs in the country and is easily capable of playing for a top six club once again.
The 29-year-old is so dominant down the left flank, continuously bombing up and down it throughout the entire 90 minutes of games, providing an extra outlet in attack for the team by doing so.
From more advanced positions, Bertrand delivers accurate balls into the box be it on the ground or in the air, while his ability when taking set pieces also adds to the threat he brings to the pitch.
Most importantly, though, the England international is a solid defender who can go toe to toe with any winger in the country.
TT Grade: A-
TT Verdict:
If Newcastle’s fortunes are to change, then Benitez may need to freshen things up and ditch some of his underperforming favourites.
And Atsu, with his abundance of pace, is someone the ex-Real Madrid and Liverpool boss could look to going forward.
However, Bertrand, alongside his counterpart on the right Cedric Soares, are full-backs who are more than capable of neutralising Atsu’s threat.
Should the Champions League winner come up against the Newcastle winger, there is likely to be only one winner. And that is the former.
