Two Premier League teams in the bottom half of the table square off at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle United play host to Leicester City.
The Magpies and the Foxes meet for the first time since May 2023 when they played out a goalless stalemate in the North East.
Match preview
© Imago
Since winning back-to-back Premier League games against Arsenal (1-0) and Nottingham Forest (3-1), Newcastle have failed to come out on top in any of their last four matches, picking up just two points in the process.
The Magpies rescue a respectable point in a thrilling 3-3 home draw with leaders Liverpool in their first game of December, but they suffered a "really frustrating" and "disappointing" 4-2 defeat at Brentford last weekend in the eyes of Eddie Howe, who bemoaned his side's defensive performance.
Five wins, five draws and five defeats have been posted by Newcastle across their 15 Premier League fixtures this season, and their inconsistent form leaves them sitting 12th in the table, five points behind the top six and seven points behind the top four.
Newcastle have been criticised by some, including club legend Alan Shearer, for only turning up for the so-called bigger games in recent weeks. Howe's side have taken points from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and high-flying Nottingham Forest since the end of September, but they failed to beat Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Brentford, losing the latter two teams.
The Magpies can take optimism from their record against newly-promoted teams, as they have lost just one of their last 21 such matches (W12 D8). However, they have only won one of their last seven top-flight home encounters with Leicester (D1 L5).
© Imago
Since replacing Steve Cooper in the Leicester hotseat, Ruud van Nistelrooy has made a bright start to life at the King Power Stadium, picking up four points from his first two home games in charge of the Foxes.
A 3-1 home victory over West Ham United was followed by a 2-2 comeback draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in which Jamie Vardy and Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored in the 86th and 91st minutes respectively to salvage a point in dramatic fashion.
Leicester remain 16th in the Premier League table, but their new manager bounce under Van Nistelrooy has been rewarded, as they have capitalised on each of the bottom three teams losing their last two matches and subsequently sit five points clear of the relegation zone.
The Foxes will welcome Saturday's trip to St James' Park as they have won six Premier League away games against Newcastle, more than they have against any other opponent, and five of those have come across their last seven visits.
Including four games in interim charge of Man United, Van Nistelrooy is now preparing for his seventh Premier League match as a manger, but this will be his first away from home. In his illustrious playing career, the Dutchman played five times at St James' Park and scored in all five games - the joint-best 100% scoring rate by a player at the same stadium along with Leicester's Vardy at The Hawthorns.
Team News
© Imago
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson has suffered another injury setback and could be out for the next couple of months with a thigh problem. The striker will join Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles (both knee) and Emil Krafth (shoulder) in the treatment room.
Joe Willock missed last weekend's defeat at Brentford with a "very minor" hamstring strain according to Howe, and the midfielder will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Howe is unlikely to make wholesale changes to his starting lineup, but Kieran Trippier, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon will all be pushing for a recall after beginning as substitutes last time out.
As for Leicester, Van Nistelrooy has confirmed that Wilfred Ndidi is facing "a couple of weeks" out with a hamstring injury and the midfielder will join Abdul Fatawu (knee), Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle) and Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) in the treatment room.
Boubakary Soumare is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Harry Winks remains doubtful with a groin problem and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
With Leicester now light in the midfield department, Oliver Skipp and Hamza Choudhury could be called upon to start in the middle of the pitch, while Facundo Buonanotte is available to return to the first XI after he was forced to sit out of the last match against parent club Brighton.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Gordon, Isak, Barnes
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Choudhury, Skipp; McAteer, Buonanotte, El Khannouss; Vardy
We say: Newcastle United 2-1 Leicester City
Only one of the last five meetings between Newcastle and Leicester have seen both teams score, and another closely-fought contest could be in store this weekend.
However, taking into account the defensive frailties of both sides, we can see the net rippling at either end on this occasion, with the Magpies just getting the better of the Foxes in front of a pumped-up St James' Park crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
