Following news earlier this week that Leicester City had been hit with a Covid-19 outbreak, their Europa League clash with Napoli is set to go ahead on Thursday evening. 

Subsequently, the Foxes’ clash at the King Power on Sunday afternoon with Newcastle United is expected to go ahead despite seven first team players and three staff members testing positive for Covid at the Midlands club.

The positive cases haven’t travelled to Naples for the game this evening – Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman, Daniel Amartey and Jannik Vestergaard are among those who were not on the plane.

Sky Sports News have reported the situation is not comparable with the one at Tottenham, but Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers did confirm ten positive cases ahead of their Europa League battle.

Should Leicester lose the European clash with Serie A title challengers, their hopes on proceeding to the knockout phase will hinge on the game between Legia Warsaw and Spartak Moscow, where the Foxes will be hoping that the former can pull off an upset and get a draw.

What does this mean for Newcastle United visit to the King Power Stadium?

The Foxes host Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday as the game is expected to go ahead as Leicester can field more than fourteen players and have more than one goalkeeper available.

The home side will want to bounce back from the frustrating 2-1 defeat at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon, while the Magpies head into the game with added momentum after their first win of the season over Burnley at St James’ Park.

A win could see the visitors move to up to 13 points and increase their chances of survival heading into the January transfer window. While the Foxes could move up as far as eighth with a victory.

Ahead of the clash Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “In general, you’re starting to see a few more cases and, for us, it’s always about the health of our players.”

“The players who were unwell who we could have maybe given 24 hours to feel better, we couldn’t take any risk with those, so we’ve kept them at home along with the other guys who were deemed positive,” Rodgers added.

On Monday morning the Premier League released its weekly Covid testing figures for the end of November where seven players are confirmed to have tested positive for the virus – with just sixteen positive tests since the middle of August.

In the Premier League, lateral flow tests are used initially and anyone who tests positive will then take a PCR test to confirm the result.

The 10-day period of self-isolation for anyone who tests positive means Leicester players hit by the outbreak are set to miss their next three games which includes Premier League battles with Newcastle and Spurs.

The Magpies travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday on the back of their first Premier League win of the season last weekend.

Callum Wilson’s well taken strike in the first half gave Newcastle the win against Burnley at St James’ Park as Eddie Howe’s side look to build on the result ahead of the clash with the Foxes.

Credit: @nufc instagram

Leicester head into the clash following their disappointing 2-1 away defeat to Midlands rivals Villa, after winger Harvey Barnes took the lead for the Foxes early in the first half.

The news about the outbreak may significantly diminish the quality in Rodgers’ side as several first team players are set to miss out.

However big guns, Vardy, Ndidi, Tielemans and Maddison all make the starting line-up against Napoli and are expected to feature against the Magpies.

Newcastle United’s Premier League fixture at Aston Villa last December was postponed following a significant increase in Covid-19 cases at the Magpies’ Training Centre.

However, the fixture with Leicester on Sunday is set to go ahead as Newcastle look to build from their first win and are in desperate need of getting a result come 2pm.

What are NUFC’s chances on Sunday?

The Magpies will be hoping to build on the momentum gained by their first win and given news that Leicester might be weakened following the Covid-19 outbreak, they might fancy their chances.

The Foxes have conceded the most goals from set-piece situations in the Premier League with both Villa goals at the weekend coming this way.

However, a trip to the King Power is always a tough ask, particularly in Newcastle’s current predicament. But, positive result is not out of the question.

Leicester have been much weaker in defence compared to last season and they have failed to keep a clean sheet since the opening day of the campaign, conceding six more goals than at this stage last year. They have also conceded the most straight from corners (6), adding up to just under a quarter of their goals against total.

If Howe’s side can utilise some aerial prowess against the Foxes, then Newcastle could certainly get some joy in that department – something that they’ve no doubt been working on this week on the training pitch.

Only time will tell.

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