Newcastle United expected starting XI versus Leicester City - with £20m man set for recall
Newcastle United are eyeing their fifth consecutive home win when they host Leicester City in the Premier League.
Eddie Howe’s side ended a run of three straight defeats when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 last time out.
That win, via Chris Wood’s 72nd-minute - lifted the Magpies 10 points above the relegation zone.
Indeed, United are within touching distance of safety and know a victory against Leicester will be another giant step towards achieving their objective.
Brendan Rodgers’ men head to St James’ Park after sealing their place in the UEFA Conference League semi-finals on Thursday evening.
They came from behind to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 following late goals from James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira.
Despite the Foxes’ European involvement, Howe doesn’t expect that to have an impact.
He said: “I’ve been in the situation before where we’ve played teams after they’ve played in Europe.
“My experience is that it doesn’t have too much bearing on the next game. I think they’ve got a squad to cope – they’ve got a very good group of players.
“They’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the season but they’ve now returned, so their squad looks a lot stronger, and they’ve got a manager who is very experienced at managing the situation.
“In my experience, it’s never really influenced the next game at all so we expect a full strength Leicester who are in very good form.”
Who will Howe name in his Newcastle United starting XI to face Leicester? Here’s our prediction:
1. GK: Martin Dubravka
Has started the last 20 games for Newcastle and kept his fifth clean sheet of the campaign last time out against Wolves.
2. RB: Emil Krafth
Javier Manquillo was the obvious choice to deputise in place of Kieran Trippier but Krafth has, to a lot of surprise, deservedly claimed that crown. Photo: Stu Forster
3. CB: Fabian Schar
Schar is out of contract this summer but has played his way into a new one having missed just one game since Howe arrived as head coach. Photo: Stu Forster
4. CB: Dan Burn
The Blyth-born defender was back to his colossal best against Wolves last Friday after a difficult afternoon at Spurs.