Leicester City vs Newcastle United Prediction

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Amazon Prime Video (UK, NI, CI, IoM); USA – TV channel: USA Network
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com

Leicester City vs Newcastle United Prediction Match Overview

Boxing Day sees the return of league football after players’ escapades at the World Cup. Leicester vs Newcastle kicks off at 3pm at the King Power Stadium. Leicester’s World Cup players, such as Danny Ward, Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans, and James Maddison, were all eliminated either at the quarter-final stage or before. Maddison went the furthest but didn’t play any minutes, so they should all be ready for this game. For Newcastle, Nick Pope, Fabian Schar, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, and Callum Wilson were all on international duty. However, like Leicester’s players, they should be ready, given that they were all also eliminated before the semi-finals.

Leicester enter the match in superb form after a dismal start to the season. They have won four of their last five league matches, scoring ten in those four games and keeping four clean sheets. Their only blip was a commendable 1-0 loss to Man City. Therefore, coach Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to carry this form forward as they are third in the form table over the last six games and have climbed to 13th. Newcastle are in even greater form, having won all five previous matches. Indeed, they scored twelve in this run and kept three clean sheets, including a 1-0 win at home to Chelsea in the final game before the World Cup. Only Arsenal are above these two teams in the form table of the previous six games. However, with such a long gap between both teams’ runs and this upcoming game, questions must be raised over whether momentum remains. If one is to take all three points, something has to give in this match.

Leicester City vs Newcastle United Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Might not play: Soyuncu (Leicester)

Will not play: Bertrand, Evans, Justin, Pereira (Leicester City); Krafth, Isak, Darlow (Newcastle United)

Possible Lineups

Leicester (4-3-3): Danny Ward; Luke Thomas, Wout Faes, Daniel Amartey, Timothy Castagne; Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall; Harvey Barnes, James Maddison, Patson Daka

Newcastle (4-3-3): Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier; Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock; Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson

Leicester City vs Newcastle United Prediction Analysis

The Midfield Contest

Both teams have strong midfields in 4-3-3 formations, and we expect this to be a well-contested game. Both enjoy playing on the counter-attack, so we don’t envision either dominating possession to a massive degree. However, there may be more onus on Leicester as the home team to take the game to the visitors. Ndidi will likely sit in the defensive midfield role for Leicester and be tasked with breaking up play. He will be responsible for filling in gaps in the channels when the Leicester full-backs go forward, receiving the ball from the defenders, and trying to link up with Tielemans and Dewsbury-Hall. The latter has energy and good technique. Tielemans is more of a creator with good passing range and the ability to open up the opposition’s defence when he goes forward. Longstaff will perform a similar role as Ndidi for Newcastle. He has a more expansive passing range though he is not as athletic as the Leicester anchorman.

Guimaraes and Willock are good in the centre of the park, with substantial flair and technical ability. Willock will look to get forward and into the box, as he is a goal threat. Indeed, we see Newcastle coach Eddie Howe asking Joelinton to perform the same role the Brazilian has all season. He will likely drop into midfield and allow midfielders to get forward. This interchange of Joelinton’s position has confused the opposition structure this season. It will enable Newcastle to get into a rhythm whereby Joelinton’s tenacity and composure complement Guimaraes and Longstaff. Overall, we expect a back-and-forth game, as both midfields can dominate for spells and remain more compact at others. Both will sometimes press to win the ball higher and try to catch the opposition off-guard.

Wide and Forward Areas

Both these teams have many threats in wide and forward areas. Therefore, we can expect goalmouth action in Leicester vs Newcastle. James Maddison has been a revelation this season, racking up goals and assists. His creativity will be on display here, and he will have to play well to breach a very astute and solid Newcastle defence. He will look to find little pockets where he can pick the ball up on the half-turn and link with Castagne, who will roam forward and try to create overloads. Maddison’s ability from set pieces will also be crucial. However, Newcastle are generally very well-drilled in this area, especially with the giant Dan Burn at the back. Barnes will look to create on the other side with Thomas. Barnes is a very direct winger who dribbles and drives at the full-back. Hence, Trippier might be a little less adventurous than usual. Barnes and Maddison can also link with Daka. The front three, two full-backs, and Tielemans are many players who can link up and threaten Newcastle when they approach the Magpies’ defensive third. The likes of Perez and Albrighton are possible wide replacements. Strikers Iheanacho and the veteran Vardy are good options to introduce if Leicester are chasing a way back into the match.

For Newcastle, Tripper remains a fantastic outlet from the right-back position. As with Maddison, his set-piece delivery could be crucial – particularly as Leicester have been conceding goals from set plays this season. His ability in open play is also excellent, and he will look to link up with Almiron. Indeed, Almiron has been on fire this season. That right-hand side could pay dividends for Newcastle, especially if Barnes fails to fulfil his defensive duties. Wilson has also been scoring goals when fit. He is a good link player, so we expect that he, Trippier, Almiron, Guimaraes, and Willock will look to link up in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch and try to find gaps in behind a Leicester defence which has looked better recently. Crosses could be a potential avenue of success for both teams, particularly for Newcastle, as Wilson is good at attacking the ball on the ground and in the air. Newcastle can bring on reinforcements in wide areas, with Jacob Murphy and exciting maverick winger Allan Saint-Maximin capable of changing a game. The latter’s dribbling and unpredictability could threaten tired Leicester legs in the second half.

Beat the Bookmaker Leicester City vs Newcastle United Prediction

Leicester vs Newcastle is a challenging game to predict. Leicester have only won two home games all season. Newcastle have won their last two away games and only lost one away game all season – at Anfield. Therefore, this game could be set up for Newcastle to come to the Midlands and play on the counter. Leicester have been performing much better recently, but the six-week break has killed any good-performing teams’ momentum. We think this will be quite a close game. However, Newcastle have been fantastic all season, and we believe they will continue where they left off in November. We believe their star performers, such as Trippier, Almiron, and Wilson, have the end product to score goals. It should be a relatively tight contest where Leicester play their part, but we predict Newcastle will edge it.

Leicester City 1-2 Newcastle United

Beat the Bookmaker Leicester City vs Newcastle United Prediction – Newcastle to Win: