Newcastle United face a difficult trip to the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester (2pm Kick-Off) and will be looking to build on their first league win last weekend over Burnley.

Howe’s side currently sit in 19th position and have the third worst defensive record in the Premier League as Leicester look to bounce-back from their disappointing 2-1 away defeat to Aston Villa last Sunday.

Newcastle completed a memorable 4-2 victory last time out at the King Power and will be looking to put the Leicester defence under pressure once again as the Foxes have struggled at the back so far this term.

The most recent evidence of Leicester’s defensive woes came in midweek as they crashed out of the Europa League following the 3-2 defeat to Napoli on Thursday night. Howe’s side should be full of confidence following their win over the Clarets.

The Magpies are expected to name an unchanged team with Ciaran Clark back in contention following his suspension after his red-card against the Canaries.

Brentford’s victory over Watford last night is bound to give the visitors a boost, knowing a win could help them close the gap on the 17th placed Hornets. This clash on Sunday involves two of the leakiest defences in the division and could therefore be filled with goals as both sides look to claim the three points come 2pm.

Newcastle do possess the worst away record in the division, posting just three points from seven games, but draws at Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion are still fresh in the memory.

Leicester having now conceded at least twice in their last four top-flight games and that stat will be music to Newcastle’s ears as they look to make it back-to-back wins.

Since Howe arrived, Newcastle have been far more adventurous in their play which is evident in the amount of corners being won, alongside the number of efforts on goal. Against Brentford they won eight corners and 10 in the win over Burnley.

Facing a defensively vulnerable Leicester side should provide a huge opportunity for the Mags to threaten goalkeeper Schmeichel if the visitors are able to yield the same type of numbers.

Leicester have been extremely poor when defending corners and have the worst record in the league for conceding at set-pieces.

The Covid-19 outbreak at Leicester had put this game in doubt but following the Foxes’ trip to Italy in midweek, the game is expected to go ahead.

New regulations have been implemented for the fixture after the government introduced their Plan B for tackling the new Omicron variant of the virus. Fans in attendance must have an up-to-date Covid passport showing they are double jabbed, a negative test result within 48 of Kick-Off or evidence that they are exempt.

Random checks will be carried out at the ground.

FORM

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Head-to-Head stats courtesy of Opta:

• None of the last 13 Premier League meetings between Leicester and Newcastle have been drawn, with the Foxes winning eight of these (L5).
• Leicester have conceded a league-high seven headed goals in the Premier League this season, while only Burnley and Chelsea (6 each) have netted more headers than Newcastle so far this term (5).
• Newcastle United have won three of their last four matches at the King Power Stadium and have troubled Leicester City in the recent past.

TEAM NEWS

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe hopes to have Fabian Schar and Ryan Fraser available. The Swiss international missed training at the start of the week but is expected to return after the rib injury he sustained against Burnley.

Fraser missed out on Newcastle’s first win with some tightness in his hamstring. Paul Dummet is set to miss out again and isn’t expected back until the new year. Ciaran Clark returns from suspension.

Howe might go for a more defensive option in the middle of the park with Isaac Hayden potentially replacing Willock who is yet to replicate his form from last season. However, the Newcastle manager is expected to name an unchanged starting eleven for the first time this term.

For Leicester, Youri Tielemans returned from a five-match absence with a calf injury in Naples and is expected to be involved again.

With several players missing due to coronavirus and illness, Rodgers will likely have to choose from the Leicester players who featured in the squad versus Napoli.

Kelechi Iheanacho, Ayoze Perez, Jannik Vestergaard, Daniel Amartey, Ademola Lookman, Filip Benkovic and Vontae Daley-Campbell are all expected to miss out once again due to coronavirus concerns and illness that is spreading at the club.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has been directly involved in 25 goals in his last 18 Premier League appearances and will be looking to threaten the scores when the Magpies visit on Sunday afternoon.

PREDICTED LINE-UP’s

NUFC:                                                                                                                                       Leicester City:

Thoughts?

Who would be your centre-back pairing on Sunday? Can Newcastle build on the momentum gained from the win over Burnley? Score predictions?

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