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The Magpies made an instant return to the top-flight, winning the title in dramatic fashion on the final day of the Championship campaign.
A two-way battle with Brighton saw Newcastle record a 3-0 home victory over Barnsley, while an 89th minute Jack Grealish strike for Aston Villa against their title rivals earned them first place in Rafa Benitez’s first season in charge.
Following their relegation, they recruited 12 players as Benitez looked to re-shape his squad to suit the unrelenting demands of the second tier.
Dwight Gayle arrived from Crystal Palace and went on to plunder 23 goals, while the additions of the likes of Matt Ritchie, Ciaran Clark, Christian Atsu and Isaac Hayden all proved equally astute.
With their home form at St James’ Park was naturally impressive, they also set a new club record for the number of league away wins in a season with no less than 14 successes.
Manager
Rafa Benitez joined Newcastle in March 2016, replacing Steve McClaren in the hotseat and his decision to stay on after relegation has proved to be good for all parties.
The Spaniard boasts a vast array of footballing titles and is the only manager in history to win the Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
He has a 56% win record in the Premier League and over 250 games under his belt at the top table of English football.
Connections
Saints stopper Fraser Forster started his career with Newcastle but never played competitively for them.
Alan Shearer started his career at Southampton and scored a hat-trick against Arsenal on his full Saints debut in 1988.
He would go on to become the all-time leading Premier League goalscorer with 260 goals as well as Newcastle United’s record goalscorer.
Head-to-head record
Saints wins: 36
Draws: 21
Newcastle United wins: 35
Previous four meetings:
April 2016: Southampton 3-1 Newcastle United (Long, Pelle, Wanyama)
August 2015: Newcastle United 2-2 Southampton (Pelle, Long)
January 2015: Newcastle United 1-2 Southampton (Elia 2)
September 2014: Southampton 4-0 Newcastle United (Pelle 2, Cork, Schneiderlin)
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