Leicester City will be hosting Newcastle United for their Premier League fixture at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. The Foxes are set to finish the season strong, currently, staged at the 8th spot of the points table but this tie could turn out to be a tricky one.
Never underestimate the powers of the desperate and as far as relegation teams go, Newcastle United are among the best.
Rafael Benitez has helped his side to a 7-point lead over the relegation zone and might just be able to save the side from the drop to the Championship. The Magpies have jumped to the 12th spot of the points table after beating Huddersfield Town by 1 goals to nil in the last weekend fixture and Southampton 3-0 in the previous one.
Claude Puel is expected the same type of resistance from a motivated Newcastle squad, a place his team quite familiar with. After the impressive title-winning season in 2016, Leicester did have a massive fall from grace. With Claudio Ranieri getting sacked and Craig Shakespeare failing to meet their lofty demands, at one point of, the 2016/17 they were even stranded in the relegation zone at a point and finished in the 12th spot.
Puel has significantly improved upon their previous season woes but not enough to challenge for the European qualification spots. With just 7 games left in the season and Arsenal still 8 points ahead of them, those plans are close to slipping off their hands.
However, a win will still keep them in the hunt and beating Burnley to the 7th spot will also be an achievement. Here is how Leicester might lineup on matchday.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Defence
Kasper Schmeichel is expected to get the nod for the starting XI. He is averaging 3 saves per game and is the first choice for Puel, ahead of Eldin Jakupovic and Ben Hammer.
Danny Simpson is the predicted starter on the right, against his former team and Daniel Amartey might just mark a return from hamstring injury.
Ben Chilwell should find himself fielded on the left.
The centre-back roles might get covered by Wes Morgan and Harry Maguire.
Midfield
Adrien Silva and Vincent Iborra should get the nod in the holding midfield roles. Wilfred Ndidi is set to miss out on this tie due to suspension.
The flanks might be covered by Riyad Mahrez on the right and Marc Albrighton on the left.
Attack
Shinji Okazaki might start in the shadow striker role ahead of Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy as the number nine.
