In a couple of hours, Newcastle United will travel to East Midlands to take on Leicester City FC. 11 places separate the two sides on the English Premier League table. The positions are a reflection of the contrasting recent form of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Eddie Howe’s squads. Here is what we can expect from Leicester vs Newcastle today.
All Guns Blazing
The Magpies have their sights set on a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Any points dropped will see them lose ground against Manchester City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. Eddie Howe will have no problems motivating his boys to break a leg for the win. Less than a month ago, they upset the form book to beat Liverpool in the EFL Carabao Cup final. Newcastle will be desperate to add a fourth-place finish to their first trophy in five decades.
Isak Will Boost His Golden Boot Hopes
Striker Alexander Isak will seek to pounce on Leicester’s porous defense to boost his goal tally. At 20 goals, he is just seven behind top scorer Mohamed Salah with very realistic Golden Boot hopes. The Swede’s success in front of goal is a double-edged sword for The Magpies and their faithful Geordies.
Arsenal have made no secret of their interest in the Newcastle number 14. Besides his eye-catching displays this season and last, perhaps the Gunners are hoping Isak will emulate another legendary 14. The same Liverpool that Isak scored against in that gripping final is rumored to also be after his signature.
Take It Lying Down
Leicester City is on the other end of the motivational spectrum. They’ve lost their last eight matches on the bounce. Ruud Van Nistelrooy must have run out of pleas, threats, and barbs to get his players out of their funk. With only eight games left to play, the Foxes have amassed only 17 points and have a goal difference of -42.
They can still make it out of the relegation zone in theory. But it will take a massive turnaround in form which Jamie Vardy and Co. don’t seem capable of. Based on these statistics and their tanking morale, we can expect the Midlanders to haplessly receive a spanking.
Jamie Vardy Won’t Score
Not just Vardy. Neither will Bilal El Khanouss, Patson Daka, Stephy Mavididi or any other attacker Nistelrooy will field against The Magpies. None of these forwards has scored a goal in Leicester’s last seven games. The last time a player in Leicester Blue made the net bulge was exactly two months ago. That FA Cup game ended in a 2-1 loss. Van Nistelrooy must be sorely tempted to throw on his boots and lead the line himself. What he wouldn’t give to imbue Vardy with his legendary finishing touch.
Sandro Tonali Won’t Score
At least not a wonder goal like the one he scored in Newcastle’s last EPL game. It is still up for debate whether the Italian midfielder meant to shoot or cross the ball against Brentford. The man himself gave the freak goal a statistical analysis “…it was 70% cross and 30% shot.” Even if he doesn’t repeat the trick in Leicester vs Newcastle, Tonali will be happy just to secure three points.
