Saints travel to Tyneside without the familiar face of Ronald Koeman in the dugout for the opening Premier League game of the season.

Ronald Koeman will be missing from the Saints bench at Newcastle after a surgical procedure and the team will be looked after by his brother Erwin, however it should be business as usual with the squad prepared in the same meticulous way.

This season's opener is very strange in that the focus is different, usually there is a higher sense of expectation with the first gam of the season having that sense of the unknown, however coming after two games in the Europa League it seems that the season has already been underway for some time and this game for us at least has lost some of its allure.

That is not to say its any less important, just that we already have that sense of purpose and the two wins against Vitesse have seen us get up and running already and the fans know what to expect from their team.

Whether this will be a good or bad thing we will soon find out.

Although Ronald Koeman will not be on the bench the system he employs will be and Erwin Koeman is an important cog in the wheel and will make sure nothing is changed, the side will probably see some changes from the one that played in Holland but they will be minor.

Saints have already shown that if anything they are better prepared than last season and will go without fear to Newcastl team and club with an air of uncertainty about it and it remains to be seen whether Steve Mclaren will be able to change the losing mentality of last season.

But the real target is three points to get the season off to the right start and on paper Saints are well capable of that, they have the same defensive toughness and going forward a lot of firepower.

Photo: Action Images

palmsaint added 08:40 - Aug 9 3 nil and top of of prem that would work for me
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perazi added 09:57 - Aug 9 Hope you are right Nick. I'm not so sure we have the same defensive toughness at this stage with Morgan and Toby gone. With doubts about Clasie's fitness; Bertrand's injury and the lack of a high class CB at the present, I worry how tight we will be in midfield and back four.
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DPeps added 10:16 - Aug 9 Mostly agree with Perazi. It was a little concerning how easily Vitesse got through our midfield at times in the second leg. A better team would have scored against us. But it's early days and I suspect Newcastle won't be firing on all cylinders. For what it's worth I think Targett is a great understudy for Bertrand, so am not so concerned about that.
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saintmark1976 added 10:22 - Aug 9 My thoughts exactly perazi. I truly hope we are both wrong but I simply do not see that the midfield and defence is as strong as that which finished last season. Time will tell.
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corkcitysaint added 10:55 - Aug 9 I think our ball retention / possession has to be better than against Vitesse who were petty toothless in attack. Agree with the comments above in that it seems we are more fragile defensively this season. Today will tell a lot. I wonder will Stevie McC converse in "Dutch" with Erwin today, Yesshh??
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