NEWCASTLE: Southampton's hopes of Champions League qualification are set to be tested over the coming weeks, starting with their visit to Newcastle United on Saturday.
Saints have been this season's surprise package and will kick off at St James' Park in third place in the Premier League table if Manchester United fail to win at QPR earlier in the day.
However, the south coast club will be without a number of key players at St James' Park because of injury or international commitments.
Southampton's Victor Wanyama faces up to a month on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in Wednesday's 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay victory at Championship side Ipswich Town.
Fellow midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin missed that game, and will be out for a similar spell because of an adductor problem.
Defender Toby Alderweireld is also missing through injury at a time when Sadio Mane and Emmanuel Mayuka are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty, and Maya Yoshida is with the Japan squad for the Asia Cup.
It all adds up to a challenging spell for manager Ronald Koeman, who saw his full-strength side beat Newcastle 4-0 at St Mary's Stadium in August.
Jack Cork was a scorer in that game and the midfielder, who has been sidelined through injury since early December, might have to make a comeback ahead of schedule.
Koeman was confident Cork would be ready if needed, saying: "It's not too early because Jack played last Monday 45 minutes in the Under-21 game against Fulham.
"He will miss having the rhythm of some games but he is in good shape. He's fresh, and we will need Jack in the coming games that we have," the Dutchman added.
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