Hosts Leicester City take on Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League on Friday night.

Despite playing against 10-men for the vast majority of the match, Leicester were held to a 1-1 draw at Southampton in their last match. A second-half penalty from midfielder James Ward-Prowse for Southampton was canceled out by a goal from center-back Jonny Evans for Leicester City. The side’s inability to take chances after having 23 shots on goal will be something the Foxes will be looking to right against Newcastle. A victory here would take them 5 points clear of the 4th-placed Chelsea before the Blues play the next day.

Following an unbeaten run of four Premier League games, Magpies fell to a 0-2 defeat at St. James' Park against Arsenal last weekend. Midfielder Mohamed Elneny and attacker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the two goals for Arsenal. Newcastle had center-back Fabian Schar sent off late in the second half. Despite sitting 17th in the points table, Newcastle have a 9-point lead over Fulham in the relegation zone. 

Leicester holds an advantage record in recent head-to-head encounters, having won 10 matches out of the 20 games played. Newcastle have won 7 games, and the remaining 3 games were drawn. However, Leicester have beaten Newcastle in their last four matches in all competitions.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place in January this year and ended in a 1-2 away victory for Leicester. James Maddison and Youri Tielemans scored second-half goals for the Foxes, whereas Andy Carroll scored the consolation goal for Newcastle United.

Rivalry Stats

• Leicester City have won 8 of their last 10 Premier League games against Newcastle United (L2), having won just 3 of their first 17 against them in the competition (D5, L9).
• Leicester City have won just 1 of their 11 Premier League games played on a Friday (D4, L6). The famous 9-0 victory away at Southampton last season was the only win.
• Since 2017, Newcastle United have won 2 of their 3 away league games against Leicester City, but they lost this exact fixture by 5-0 last season.
• Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight Premier League appearances (9 goals, 2 assists), 1 more than he had in his previous 57 in the competition (6 goals, 4 assists).

Match Details

• Match: Leicester City vs. Newcastle United
• Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester
• Date & Time: May 8, 2021 at 12:30 AM IST 

Team News

Leicester City

• Injured: Harvey Barnes, James Justin
• Doubtful: Wes Morgan
• Suspended: None

Newcastle United

• Injured: Isaac Hayden, Ryan Fraser, Jamaal Lascelles, Karl Darlow
• Doubtful: None
• Suspended: Fabian Schar

Predicted Starting XI

Leicester City (3-4-1-2)

Kasper Schmeichel (WK), Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu; Wilfred Ndidi, Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans, Ricardo Pereira; James Maddison; Kelechi Iheanacho, Jamie Vardy

Newcastle United (3-5-2)

Martin Dubravka (GK), Federico Fernandez, Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett; Jacob Murphy, Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey, Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff; Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin 

• Leicester City form guide: D-W-W-W-L
• Newcastle United form guide: L-D-W-W-D

Match Prediction

This is a potentially tricky match for the home side as Newcastle are certainly better than their league position suggests. They were disappointing against Arsenal, losing 2-0 at home. 

On the other hand, Leicester will be determined to bounce back from the draw with Southampton and keep their hold on the 3rd place in the table. Given their quality in the attack and superior form, fancy the hosts to edge out a huge 3 points in this Friday night fixture.

Howzat Dream Team

• Goalkeeper: M Dubravka
• Defenders: J Evans, C Soyuncu, T Castagne, F Fernandez
• Midfielders: Y Tielemans, J Maddison, M Almiron, A S-Maximin 
• Forwards: J Vardy, K Iheanacho

• Captain: J Vardy/K Iheanacho
• Vice Captain: J Maddison/T Castagne

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy football team by using your knowledge and fantasy premier league tips. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual starting 11 is announced by each team (60 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the fantasy 11.

Select your own team and play fantasy football on your favorite fantasy football app, Howzat!