Leicester City
Newcastle United
Newcastle United
Leicester aim to close gap on 2nd place against almost-safe Newcastle
Leicester to win 1-0
This weekend marks the start of an incredibly important, not to mention busy, part of the season for Leicester as they aim to secure their top four position as well as contest an FA Cup final next weekend.
The Foxes face Newcastle this weekend, followed by Manchester United and then Chelsea in the cup final, all within the space of eight days. They can’t afford to take their foot off the gas here though, with their 3rd place not yet secure.
Brendan Rodgers men have won just two from their last five in the league, with Manchester United and Chelsea both winning more in that timeframe.
Newcastle are now almost certain of a place in next season’s Premier League after a period of good form has taken them nine points ahead of 18th place Fulham.
The Magpies probably need two or three more points over the next four games to make certain, though the pressure is off to some extent. Will that affect their performance here?
Form Guide (all comps): LWWWD
Reasons to be cheerful:
Five points ahead of 5th place West Ham with four games to go
Beat Newcastle back in January
Reasons to be fearful:
Busy period of fixtures could cause them to lose focus
Showed they are vulnerable by dropping points last weekend
Leicester are currently exactly where they want to be at this stage of the season – comfortably within the top four while also challenging for silverware in the FA Cup next weekend.
If all goes well, this could be one of the best seasons in their history, however they’ll also be aware that everything could go wrong between now and the end of the season.
They still have to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham in the league, with that cup final also against Chelsea in the middle of that. A good run will round off the season nicely, while a poor run could see them finish empty handed and outside of the top four.
With that in mind, they will play a strong team here and make sure they do everything they can to secure three points.
Star Man – Kalechi Iheanacho
Has 11 goal contributions in his last eight league games for the club.
Form Guide (all comps): DWWDL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Recent form means they cannot be underestimated
May play better football now they’re virtually safe
Reasons to be fearful:
Fabian Schar is suspended here
Lost 10 of the last 12 meetings with Leicester in all competitions
Steve Bruce will have breathed a huge sigh of relief over the past couple of weeks as, even though they are only one place above the danger zone, his side have put nine points between themselves and the Championship.
With four games to go, they are not completely assured of their spot next season, but will be confident of picking up a couple of points against the likes of Sheffield United and Fulham in their remaining games.
Here, defender Schar will miss out after being sent off against Arsenal last weekend, otherwise Bruce is likely to go with the same side.
With Leicester’s focus potentially elsewhere, is there the opportunity to cause an upset?
Star Man – Allan Saint-Maximin
Is consistently Newcastle’s best performer these days and is scoring goals more frequently.
A tough game for Leicester
The Foxes should edge possession
Could be a low scoring game
You get the feeling that this could be a tough game for Leicester, who need to manage player fitness smartly over the next week or so.
They won’t rotate much here, but their focus could be elsewhere which could play into Newcastle’s hands.
The Foxes remain favourites to win, but perhaps tighter than it would appear on paper.
Leicester to win 1-0
