Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has told his team to treat their "season-defining" Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Southampton as a league game.
The Magpies, who won the away leg 1-0, just need to avoid defeat to reach a first League Cup final in 47 years.
"You have to look at it as an independent game," said Howe. "If you focus on that too much on the 1-0 lead, then you're in trouble.
"You go into protection mode and we don't want that."
The Magpies, who are third in the Premier League table, have only lost twice this season in all competitions.