Newcastle United will entertain Leicester City at St. James’ Park looking to pick up a win in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. The Magpies managed to secure a hard-earned 0-0 draw versus Liverpool earlier this week, which will keep them in high spirits going into this upcoming league contest at Tyneside. Similarly, the Foxes were held to a 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace in midweek, so they will be desperate to bag maximum points from this weekend’s clash on the road.
Talking Tactics
Steve Bruce could set his team up in a 4-4-2 formation and might ask his players to work hard in making life difficult for the opposition, especially on the counter. Both Callum Wilson and Joelinton will have to share the offensive workload in the final third. They could pose a threat from set-pieces deep inside the Leicester half.
Brendan Rodgers will opt for a 3-4-2-1 formation and could instruct his team to dominate possession in the hopes of orchestrating some clear-cut chances to win this match. Jamie Vardy was rested in midweek, so he should be fresh to lead the line for the East Midlands outfit up top. We can expect him to carry most of his team’s goal-scoring burden up top.
Team News
Newcastle United
Bruce will be sweating on the fitness of Paul Dummett as he is a significant concern ahead of this game. However, Ryan Fraser is unlikely to recover in time for this weekend. Isaac Hayden will also miss out in this match due to suspension.
Newcastle United Predicted XI
Darlow, Yedlin, Fernandez, Clark, Lewis, Ritchie, Shelvey, Longstaff, Almiron, Wilson, Joelinton
Leicester City
Wesley Fofana, James Maddison and Cengiz Under are all major doubts for this game and will be in a race against time to be fit on Sunday. Otherwise, Rodgers has no new injury concerns this weekend.
Leicester City Predicted XI
Schmeichel, Justin, Fofana, Evans, Albrighton, Mendy, Tielemans, Castagne, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy
Key Men
Newcastle United
Callum Wilson will be Newcastle’s best hope for a goal while Jonjo Shelvey will have to cook up some decent chances from midfield. The centre-back duo of Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez will have to find a way to neutralise the threat of Jamie Vardy during the 90 minutes.
Leicester City
We can expect Vardy to be a constant menace for the Newcastle defenders on Sunday. Both Nampalys Mendy and Youri Tielemans will need to have a good game if Leicester are to emerge victorious at St. James’ Park.
Odds
The East Midlands outfit are 8/13 favourites to collect all three points from Tyneside. The draw has been priced at 29/10 by the bookmakers while Newcastle are 9/2 underdogs to secure a win this weekend.
