Beckham: Winter World Cup is ‘perfect’ for players
England legend David Beckham says the upcoming World Cup in Qatar will be ‘perfect’ for players as they will be able to come into the tournament in late November in peak form.
Newcastle vs Leicester City: Line-ups
Newcastle
Leicester City
Tough One to Find a Winner
#1
Before the weekend’s fixtures kick off, Howe’s side find themselves sitting pretty in 14th in the rankings – with a 10-point gap separating them from managerless Burnley, who do have a game in hand, in the bottom three – but a few daunting tests still await Newcastle.
#2
Indeed, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool will all pit their wits against the newly-rich Magpies before the curtain closes on a whirlwind of a season for the Toon Army, who will surely already have one eye on their team’s summer transfer business as optimism continues to grow.
#3
Furthermore, each of Newcastle’s three most recent defeats came away from home, and the Magpies welcome Leicester to St James’ Park having won each of their last four Premier League games on their own turf, and the Foxes – despite their joyous exertions – are not exactly well-rested.
#4
Rodgers’s side managed to halt Crystal Palace’s momentum with a 2-1 success at the King Power last weekend and occupy ninth spot in the table as a result, with Wolves nine points ahead of their mid-table counterparts having played three games more, but a late push for the top seven is surely a bridge too far for the Foxes.
#5
Rodgers will therefore surely elect to prioritise a shot at glory in the Conference League for a Leicester side who have only managed to win one of their last nine Premier League games on the road, but they put four unanswered goals past Newcastle back in December and will head to St James’ Park on cloud nine.
DPP Verdict
Newcastle have come a long way both on and off the pitch since being subjected to a 4-0 humbling against Leicester at the King Power, and a spate of positive home results makes it seem likely that another one could be in store here. The Foxes do have competent options for change amid their tough schedule and have also started to perform better domestically in recent weeks, so we think this battle has a score draw written all over it.
