Southampton XI: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Salisu, Diallo, Alcaraz, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo, Orsic, Mara.

Subs: Caballero, Bednarek, Perraud, Lavia, Maitland-Niles, Edozie, Elyounoussi, A Armstrong, Adams.

Newcastle United XI: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, Joelinton, Wilson.

Subs: Darlow, Lascelles, Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, Lewis, Isak, Manquillo, Murphy, Anderson.

Southampton defender Duje Caleta-Car wants his side to put the 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa behind them as they prepare for the visit of Newcastle

“We’re disappointed, angry,” the Croatia international told his club website after Saturday's match.

“I don’t know what the feelings are now going through the head.

"We expected more from the game and it was not our best performance. I don’t know why but we need to do it better and we expected more from this game.

“When you see our last games, we had looked confident. It’s a tough one to take but we need to now take a rest and be ready for Newcastle.”

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe tells Sky Sports: "We're prepared for a tough one.

"They've improved. Nathan has done a good job, he's galvanized the players and galvanized the club.

"They were hugely impressive against Manchester City. We come here fully aware that we need to be at our best."

Glenn Murray
Former Crystal Palace striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

We talk about him [Howe] being a manager, but he's also a very good coach.

In the past, we've seen him develop players from League One in the Premier League at Bournemouth and we're seeing that again now.

Players like Joelinton and Miguel Almiron were there before him but the improvement they've made under him is exceptional.

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Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at St. Mary's

Newcastle United's fans delivered a deafening roar as their players went to warm up in front of them ahead of this League Cup semi-final. They will pack out their section of St. Mary's tonight as they seek their first appearance in a major final since the 1999 FA Cup Final.

You have to go back to the 1969 Inter Cities' Fairs Cup for Newcastle's last success but hopes are rising under manager Eddie Howe and their Saudi Arabian owners.

Some added excitement with strong suggestions here that Newcastle are edging closer to a deal for Everton's Anthony Gordon.

Here's more on Eddie Howe on the changing expectations of his Newcastle team.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe insists reaching a semi-final “isn’t enough” as his side prepare to face Southamptonin the Carabao Cup.

A win against Leicester saw the Magpies reach their first League Cup semi-final for 47 years to set up a clash against the Saints, who dumped Manchester City out of the competition.

The Magpies are aiming to edge closer to their first piece of domestic silverware in nearly 68 years and Howe believes just reaching the final four is not enough.

“We’re delighted to be where we are, but the semi-final itself isn’t enough, I don’t think it’s enough for anybody,” he told a pre-match press conference.

“I think you go into these games and to say you got to a semi-final is nothing, ultimately, you want to get one step further, I know the players feel the same way.

“Me and my coaching team feel passionately about it that we want to make the final, but we have to navigate these two games, they’re going to be very difficult, as I say.

“We want it to be a tie for the supporters, the only way we can guarantee that is performing at our best. I think the away game will be a really good spectacle for the fans that travel, it’s on telly so everyone will have a chance to watch the game.

“The home game will be a very, very special night, our job is to make sure we’re in a good position going into that tie. We’re desperate for the next step but we have to take our mind off that really and focus on the process and the job, and the job is to go to Southampton and perform.”

Former Newcastle United midfielder Tommy Craig says Magpies fans will play an enormous role in getting Eddie Howe's side to the Carabao Cup final.

Craig was part of the Newcastle squad that reached the 1976 League Cup final. That year, they lost the first leg of their semi-final at Tottenham, before turning things around at St James' Park - though they eventually lost to Manchester City in the final.

Speaking before tonight's first leg at Southampton, he told BBC Radio Newcastle: "It’s a big, big night. It promises to be a really tough tie.

"We’ve got to remember that on their day Southampton can be a force. But if Newcastle maintain their current form I don’t see why we shouldn’t go back to St James’ Park in the second leg and create an atmosphere which I know will be fantastic.

"I can’t explain to you exactly how it feels to be a player going out in an occasion like this. The Geordies will be willing their team from the first whistle right to the very last to make sure they get to that final.

"They are of immense importance. They’ve got to maintain their recent form, and in doing so they will get an enormous reaction from the crowd if they can come back with a decent result."

Image source, Getty Images

Sean Longstaff says the EFL Cup semi-final against Southampton is part of "a great year" at Newcastle.

The Magpies beat Leicester 2-0 in the quarter-final and currently sit third in the Premier League.

"If you'd said twelve months ago that we'd be third in the league and in a cup semi-final, people would have laughed at you. It's been a great year," Longstaff told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"It's a game we're really looking forward to. If we can take something back to St James' Park, I think it'll just be an unbelievable second leg with the atmosphere. I was trying to explain to the lads what it'll be like.

"We're really excited but know it's going to be a tough game.

"I can't remember the last time we were in a semi-final, to be honest. So many people are asking for tickets! It's really nice. The occasion will be really special."

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle's journey to this stage of the EFL Cup began with a narrow 2-1 win at Tranmere Rovers but from then on it has been Premier League opposition all the way.

They beat Crystal Palace on penalties, defeated Bournemouth 1-0 and then saw off Leicester 2-0 to reach the semi-finals.

Image source, .

Matty Renton, The Magpie Channel TV, external

Eddie Howe continued to break records in Newcastle United's stalemate at Crystal Palace.

It was a frustrating draw at Selhurst Park, yet an impressive milestone was still achieved: an unbeaten run of 15 Premier League games is a best for the club.

All guided by Howe, who also became the first British manager to accomplish this feat.

Another proud Brit is Nick Pope, who has now kept an incredible seven straight clean sheets. With England manager Gareth Southgate watching from the stands, it will have done Pope's chances of being his country's number one at the next Euros no harm.

The defence record is remarkable, with just 11 goals conceded all season.

However, the last team to score past Pope was tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final opponents Southampton.

In what is the Toon Army’s first semi-final since 2005, the travelling fans will be relishing being only two legs away from Wembley.

Howe could become the first Magpies manager to take them to a final since 1999.

And faith in the 45-year-old suggests he'll succeed...

• Get all the latest Newcastle content in oneplace here.

Rob Green
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's a really intriguing tie.

Over the years, clubs have played their weaker teams but the bigger clubs have come through.

The energy is going to be there tonight from both sides.

Newcastle are on a wonderful run and they will be full of confidence.

Southampton are looking, they are hoping, more than anything. Getting a lead is the big thing for them.

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton kicked off their path to the semi-finals by beating Cambridge United 3-0 in round two. They then edged Sheffield Wednesday on penalties before beating Lincoln 2-1 to reach the last eight.

It was there they came up against Manchester City and pulled off a shock against Pep Guardiola's side, winning 2-0 to set up this Newcastle tie.

Newcastle go into the match having extended their Premier League record to 15 games unbeaten with a goalless draw at Crystal Palace over the weekend.

Opponents Southampton are bottom of the table having struggled in the league this year, but they are under new management following the appointment of Nathan Jones in November and have had success in cup competitions this season.

As well as stunning City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, the Saints reached the fourth round of the FA Cup and Howe was full of praise for his opposite number in the dugout.

He said: “Ralph [Hasenhuttl] had his way of playing, Nathan’s got his, there are subtle differences, as I say, not drastic changes.

“Nathan I admire greatly as a manager, I think he’s done very well in his career, looking at his time at Luton, what job he did.

“He’s now gone to a new club and he’s looking to implement his ideas there, we know with a new manager, new players coming in it’s a different challenge to one we faced under Ralph.

“I think with the cup game as well it’s a chance for both teams to get away from the Premier League and the pressures that brings, that’ll be an interesting dynamic going into these two games.”

Image source, .

Harry Tizard, The Saints Score, external

When the summer transfer window closed, Southampton fans voiced their concerns about the lack of improvement in the attacking areas of the pitch.

Sekou Mara – a 20-year-old talent for the future – was the only striker brought in, with many believing that neglecting such a pivotal position could be costly.

With the Saints bottom of the Premier League, such worries have been proven well founded. Struggling for goals, Southampton’s successive defeats against fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Everton across September and the start of October should have set alarm bells ringing.

At that point, there was almost three months until the next transfer window. Southampton should have put all of their effort into finding and delivering a new attacker ready to hit the ground running at the start of 2023.

Instead, Nathan Jones’ side are 24 days into the window and yet to see a striker come through the door. They are heavily linked with Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson, but the Senegal international has just two goals in La Liga this season and is not the clinical forward required.

He might be one for the future, but Southampton need one for now.

Southampton

Southampton manager Nathan Jones tells Sky Sports: "We're getting there. It's always difficult coming in mid-season, trying to evaluate the squad and trying to evolve into the side you want to be.

"We had to stop conceding goals, we had one clean sheet in the first 16 games, then you're able to be more fluent, more potent and eventually you become a good side.

"There have been results where we've been decent but it has been tough to take that we didn't get the win. This is not a distraction but it's a nice game to prepare for. The league is our bread and butter."

On new signings Mislav Orsic and Carlos Alcaraz: "We brought them in because they are high-energy players that can create and be potent going forward.

"Orsic is an experienced international and Alcaraz is an exciting prospect. We want them to be the players that they were recruited for."

Image source, Reuters

Southampton boss Nathan Jones wants to replicate what Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle.

Both managers have had remarkably similar career paths, Jones enjoying lower-league success with Luton and Howe at Bournemouth, either side of disappointing spells at Stoke and Burnley respectively.

Howe is now flying high in third place in the Premier League despite largely relying on the players he inherited in what was a struggling team.

“I’ve lots of admiration for Eddie as a human being and as a coach and manager he is proving he can build something, he can take setbacks and then he can go to a Premier League club and do well,” said Jones.

“Our careers have lots of parallels and I have spoken to him a few times. If I can get anywhere near him I will be delighted. That’s what I have to do here. That’s what I’ve been brought in to do, to develop players to be better than what others thought they could be or the levels they were playing at previously.

“That’s what coaching is, that’s what man management is and we’ve got players who have bought into everything. I’ve got to make sure I give them a structure and keep on to them so they keep sticking to the game plan, sticking to the structure so they improve individually and we improve as a team.”

Carlos Alcaraz makes his first start for Southampton, who make four changes for tonight's semi-final first-leg tie.

Mislav Orsic also makes his debut while Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo come in.

Southampton XI: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Lyanco, Caleta-Car, Salisu, Diallo, Alcaraz, Ward-Prowse, Djenepo, Orsic, Mara.

Subs: Caballero, Bednarek, Perraud, Lavia, Maitland-Niles, Edozie, Elyounoussi, A Armstrong, Adams.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are unchanged from the side that drew with Crystal Palace in the Premier League last-time out.

Newcastle United XI: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, Joelinton, Wilson.

Subs: Darlow, Lascelles, Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, Lewis, Isak, Manquillo, Murphy, Anderson.