TEAM NEWS
Leicester City pair Robert Huth (calf) and Andy King (hamstring) are both fitness doubts after being substituted during the midweek defeat by Chelsea.
Jeff Schlupp is available after a calf problem but David Nugent remains out.
Newcastle's Moussa Sissoko returns from suspension, while Papiss Cisse serves the last of his seven-game ban.
Siem de Jong is unlikely to make his first start since August despite scoring as a substitute against Swansea last week on his return from injury.
Paul Dummett has recovered from a knee problem,
MATCH PREVIEW
This is a game with a lot more riding on it than we might have expected just a few weeks back.
A month ago, Leicester were rock bottom and seven points from safety, while Newcastle were 12th and 10 points clear of the bottom three. How moods and perceptions have changed during April.
Lawro's prediction |
|---|
"Newcastle have lost their last seven games, which is pathetic when you consider the size of that club. Their performances have been atrocious and I don't see how their form is going to improve on Saturday."
|
Leicester rattled off four wins in a row before losing to champions-elect Chelsea on Wednesday, while Newcastle can't get a point from anywhere and are starting to look a little nervously over their shoulder.
The Foxes' impressive run of 12 points from the last 15 has lifted them above the trap door and given them a realistic chance of staying up, while the Toon's gap to the bottom three has halved to just five points. It's an alarming slide that has seen them fail to collect a single point since beating Aston Villa 1-0 at the end of February.
I was at the King Power Stadium two weeks ago for Leicester's 2-0 win over Swansea and left thinking if they can carry on playing like that, they'll surely manage to stay up. It was the most driven, committed, high-energy performance I've seen all season from any team - and any set of supporters.
Contrast that with the mood on Tyneside lately, where the club have appeared anything but driven and united on the way to seven straight league defeats.
Newcastle's away form has predictably been poor in recent times, with one win from the last 11 on the road.
This will be their second trip to Leicester this season, having been knocked out of the FA Cup 1-0 in the third round in January, and they can expect another difficult afternoon here against a Leicester team playing with belief and confidence in their quest for Premier League survival.
You'd have to be an ostrich with your head in the sand not to have noticed.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Leicester have drawn their last four home league meetings with Newcastle. However, the Foxes were 1-0 winners at the King Power Stadium when the sides last met, in an FA Cup third-round tie in January.
- Newcastle are unbeaten in nine league games against Leicester since a home defeat in April 2000.
Leicester City
- Leicester's tally of 12 points from the last five matches is only bettered by three clubs: Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea, who all picked up 13 points.
- The Foxes were bottom of the table for 140 days between November and April; no team has ever been bottom for that long in a single Premier League season and avoided relegation. They could become the second Premier League side, after West Brom in 2005, to stay up after being bottom at Christmas.
- Their tally of 12 goals in six league matches is one more they managed in the 15 games before that.
- Jamie Vardy has scored three goals and set up three more in his last six Premier League appearances.
Newcastle United
- The Magpies have suffered seven straight league defeats. It is 38 years since they fared as badly, during a club record 10-match losing streak.
- They have conceded 15 goals and scored just four times during their current winless run.
- Since Alan Pardew left as manager, Newcastle have only managed two wins and nine points in 15 games. It's the worst record of any Premier League club in that time.
- John Carver's side have lost four successive away fixtures without scoring, and have only taken five points from their last 11 games on the road (W1, D2, L8).
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário