It’s time for The Foxes form to drop
Last updated: November 17, 2015 by Leon Marshal
Game details
. .
| Kick-off: | Saturday, 3pm |
| Venue: | The St. James’ Park |
| Coverage: | Sky Sports 1, BBC 5 Live |
| Home form: | WDLWL |
| Away form: | WWLWD |
| Last season: | 1-0 |
| Competition: | The Premier League |
Leicester City have been brilliant in The Premier League so far; The Foxes have lost only once in 12 matches and are just one point behind the leaders Manchester City and Arsenal. Mahrez and Vardy were just average players before the start of the season and now have become real stars and are now invoking interest by many club scouts. But their top form just can’t last forever. If Vardy stops scoring, surely Leicester will start losing games. So, the ‘recipe’ for beating The Foxes is to keep their striker quiet.
The Magpies showed a great defensive play against Bournemouth in the last round and won 1-0, scoring their only clear chance of a goal. Their goalkeeper Elliot has also shown a classy performance, making five saves against The Cherries. So, Newcastle have the qualities to stop The Premiership’s current top goal-scorer. In addition, The Magpies will be motivated to ride out of the relegation zone.
According to the past trend, Newcastle must win the game between these two teams at St. James’ Park. The Magpies have won 24 of 39 matches against Leicester at home. There has been 8 draws and 7 wins for The Foxes.
Team News
No injured players at Leicester City, except the long-term injured Matty James, who is expected to return in January.
No more tears for Tim Krul. Newcastle’s goalkeeper has been replaced by Rob Elliot, who has played at top level in the last 4 Premiership matches.
Haidara, Aarons, Darlow, Taylor, Riviere and Colback are among the injured players in Newcastle’s squad. Colback will return to full training in a month.
Jamie Vardy has scored in 9 consecutive Premiership games. The striker has found the net 12 times this season and is the current league’s top scorer.
Quotes of the week
Steve McClaren (Newcastle) :
“That is what we have been doing – looking to give everybody opportunities and chopping and changing with the line-up.”
Claudio Ranieri (Leicester) :
“I am surprised how fast Kante has adapted to the league.”
Expected line-ups:
| . | |
| Newcastle (4-2-3-1): | Elliot, Coloccini, Janmaat, Dummett, Mbemba, Wijnaldum, Sissoko, Anita, Tiote, Ayoze, Mitrovic |
| Subs | Woodman, de Jong, Thauvin, Mbabu, Gouffran, Cisse, Lascelles. |
| Injured: | Riviere, Taylor, Aarons, Darlow, Krul, Colback, Haïdara |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
| . | |
| Leicester (4-2-3-1): | Schmeichel, Huth, Morgan, De Laet, King, Albrighton, Drinkwater, Kante, Mahrez, Vardy, Schlupp. |
| Subs | Okazaki, Dodoo, Benalouane, Dyer, Ulloa, Schwarzer, Inler |
| Injured: | Matty James |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
So far this season
| . | . | . |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle this season | Leicester this season | |
| 17 | League Position | 3 |
| 1 (1) | (at home) Wins (away) | 4 (3) |
| 6-2 vs. Norwich | Biggest win | 4-2 vs. Sunderland |
| 3 (1) | (at home) Draws (away) | 1 (3) |
| 2 (4) | (at home) Losses (away) | 1 (0) |
| 1-6 to Manchester City | Biggest Defeat | 2-5 to Arsenal |
| Wijnaldum (6) | Top scorer | Vardy (12) |
| Sissoko (4) | Assist Leader | Mahrez (5) |
| Y23, R3 | Discipline | Y23, R0 |
| 6 | Failures to score | 0 |
| 3 | Clean Sheets | 1 |
| 5 | Both Teams to Score Games | 11 |
| 6 | Over 2.5 Games | 9 |
| 7 | Under 2.5 Games | 4 |
- Newcastle have won in 5 consecutive home games against Leicester in The Premier League. 4 of them were 1-0 final score.
- The last match between these two teams ended with a 3-0 win for The Foxes at The King Power Stadium. The Argentinian striker Ulloa scored twice in the victory.
- Newcastle have lost only two games at home during the campaign. Furthermore, The Magpies won 6-2 against a well-defending Norwich.
- The Foxes still haven’t lost away from home. They have recorded 3 victories and the same number of draws. In their last away game, they turned things around and beat West Brom 3-2.
Head to Head
| Last 5 meetings between the two sides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Game Result | First Goal-scorer |
| 02/05/15 | The Premier League | Leicester 3-0 Newcastle | L. Ulloa 1′ |
| 03/01/15 | The FA Cup | Leicester 1-0 Newcastle | L. Ulloa 39′ |
| 18/10/14 | The Premier League | Newcastle 1-0 Leicester | G. Obertan 71′ |
| 30/01/10 | The Championship | Leicester 0-0 Newcastle | — |
| 31/08/09 | The Championship | Newcastle 1-0 Leicester | D. Guthrie 52′ |