Leicester v Newcastle Preview! – By Simon Mack

Leicester City vs Newcastle United

Sunday 29^th September 2019 4:30pm

King Power Stadium

The foxes take on Newcastle United this Sunday as they attempt to continue their top 4 form this season.

The visitors sit 17^th in the Premier League table with one win from six to date, their only victory coming away at Tottenham Hotspur where a single goal from Brazilian forward Joelinton won them the match, his only goal for the magpies to date.

Andy Carroll, Sean Longstaff, and Allan Saint-Maximin have all paid visits to the physio’s room in recent times but have been passed fit for this Sunday’s match up, and American defender DeAndre Yedlin has also joined the match day squad after a long layoff with Achilles trouble.

Newcastle played their part in an unremarkable 0-0 draw last out in the league against Brighton, and to date have 4 goals in their 6 league outings. Their last 2 trips to King Power Stadium have seen the magpies leave with all 3 points, and a win this time out will see them become the first team to win 3 league visits in a row at the foxes home ground.

Leicester defeated their visitors recently in the Carabao Cup on penalties up at St James Park, and whilst city’s cup adventures continued down at Luton midweek Newcastle have had their feet up and all eyes on their preparation for their tricky task at the weekend.

Despite all the odds and pundits being quite heavily in favour of a home victory the magpies are the only side to win at King Power Stadium since city boss Brendan Rodgers took charge, and having shown they can mix it with the top 6 in their victory at spurs Steve Bruce’s men will be eager to replicate their recent good form when they are hosted by the foxes.

Jonjo Shelvey has added to Bruce’s woes by picking up a hamstring injury last weekend and is unlikely to feature at all for at least a couple of weeks, and talented winger Matt Ritchie continues to recover from the injury picked up as a result of foxes midfielder Hamza Choudhury’s tackle on him in the cup back on the 28^th August. Some magpies fans point to Ritchie’s absence as a partial reason for their results in recent times, and the ‘Choudhury-Ritchie’ saga is sure to form part of this weekend’s media questions and talking points and Newcastle boss Bruce is still upset about the challenge.

For Leicester the big fitness story revolves around talisman James Maddison who has an ankle injury sustained late on in last week’s 2-1 victory at home to spurs. City gaffer Rodgers has said that the back room staff continue to monitor the talented midfielders progress, but with stories of Maddison only just starting to put weight on his ankle recently his chances of featuring seem unlikely.

Ayonze Perez city’s big money signing from Newcastle in the summer lead the line for the foxes in their away cup clash with Luton Town in the week, but you’d think Jamie Vardy will reclaim that berth as the Premier League continues, and it will be interesting to see if Perez starts on Sunday against his former club.

Brendan Rodgers has mixed and matched so far this term in his quest to rotate and adapt his playing philosophies to the opposition in question. Last time out against spurs he went with a wider middle quartet, and whilst he switched to a diamond to great effect later on in the match you’d expect him to continue with a flatter four in a tie the hosts will be hoping to win with some dominance.

Against spurs the introduction of summer signing Dennis Praet in midfield formed part of the impetus that turned around city’s fortunes, and having also impressed in the midweek cup away victory the Belgian midfielder could be in line for a start in city’s 7^th league outing to date.

Youri Tielemans was one of few regular league starters to feature in the cup tie midweek, and it’s no coincidence that he’s getting game time as the manager helps him to find the rhythm and form that lead to his £40 million summer signing on a permanent deal.

Whilst the defence seems settled James Justin did his chances of a league start no harm with a superb display against his former club, and the young utility man must have a chance of game time along with Kelechi Inheanacho who scored midweek despite not even making the bench for recent league ties.

It has been said the Ayonze Perez needs to be played more centrally to see the best of him in a city shirt, and with Maddison unlikely for this one the most likely move for Rodgers will be to put Perez just behind Jamie Vardy as the main supporting cast to the foxes legend.

Leicester possible starting line-up:

Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Ndidi, Tielemans,  Praet, Barnes, Perez, Vardy

Newcastle possible starting lineup:

Dubravka, Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, Willems, Saint-Maximin, Hayden, Longstaff, Atsu, Joelinton