A doomed Leicester City side could be condemned to an unprecedented eighth successive home defeat in the Premier League when Newcastle United visit the King Power Stadium on Monday evening.
Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s men lost 2-0 to Manchester City on their return to action in midweek, while the EFL Cup winners enhanced their top-four credentials by edging out Brentford 2-1.
Match preview
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Picking up exactly where they left off just before the international break – by losing and failing to score – Leicester City’s trip to the Etihad to face reigning champions Man City was not expected to be fruitful, and so it proved on Wednesday night.
A penny for the thoughts of Foxes fans when Jack Grealish, who had not scored a Premier League goal all season, took just two minutes to break the deadlock, before Omar Marmoush capitalised on a characteristic defensive blunder to put the seal on a two-goal win.
Leicester’s seemingly inevitable relegation to the Championship cannot be confirmed this weekend – unlike basement side Southampton – but it appears to be just a matter of time before they are condemned to a swift second-tier return, especially if the form book is anything to go by.
The hosts’ midweek loss at the Etihad marked an embarrassing eighth defeat in a row in all competitions – during which Van Nistelrooy’s men have only found the back of the net once – and another unwanted English football record could be theirs on Monday night.
Indeed, Leicester are at risk of becoming the first side in English Football League history to lost eight consecutive league games at home without scoring; if that was not enough, the Foxes could also lose 11 home games in a single season for the first time in their history.
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As Leicester seek to avoid an eighth straight home defeat, Newcastle coincidentally have their sights set on an eighth Premier League away win of the season; the Magpies have only ever managed that particular achievement in four previous top-flight campaigns since 1992.
After a fortnight’s worth of recovery time from their boisterous EFL Cup party – at least for those who did not have national team commitments to fulfil – the Magpies snapped Brentford’s magnificent away sequence in midweek thanks to Alexander Isak‘s 20th top-flight goal of the season and an outrageous Sandro Tonali strike.
Having played fewer games than all of the clubs around them, the Magpies’ top-four fate remains in their own hands heading into the final straight, and Eddie Howe‘s men have run into few difficulties against newly-promoted teams of late.
Monday’s visitors are on a six-game Premier League winning sequence against teams to have come up from the Championship in the previous campaign, while only losing one of their last 18 such matches; unpleasant reading for those of a Leicester persuasion.
Furthermore, Newcastle have strung together a five-game unbeaten run versus Leicester across all tournaments – winning four of those battles – and Howe’s men made extremely light work of their opponents in December, when they hit the Foxes for four at home.
Team News
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Only long-term knee victim Abdul Fatawu – who will not play again this season – is taking up a bed in the Leicester treatment room at present, but experienced midfielder Harry Winks was another notable absentee in the loss to Man City.
Reports have now emerged claiming that the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was axed by Van Nistelrooy following a bust-up over his 100-mile commute, and whether the pair will reconcile before Monday’s match remains to be seen.
Few of Van Nistelrooy’s players covered themselves in glory against Man City – Jamie Vardy was one of the many Foxes who endured a forgettable evening – but the long-serving number nine should still don the captain’s armband from the first whistle.
From a veteran striker to one in his prolific prime, Newcastle fans are waiting with bated breath to learn whether Isak will be available for the trip to the King Power Stadium, and the Swedish sensation is one of a handful of doubts for Howe.
Kieran Trippier (groin), Anthony Gordon (leg), Joelinton (knee) and Matt Targett (illness) are in the same boat, while Sven Botman (knee), Jamaal Lascelles (knee) and Lewis Hall (foot) will play no part in this one.
Should Gordon – whose suspension has now run its course – be forced to wait a little while longer for his return, former Foxes winger Harvey Barnes will operate down the left against the club he scored 45 goals and provided 32 assists in 187 appearances for.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Thomas, Faes, Okoli; Justin, Ndidi, Soumare, Kristiansen; El Khannouss, Ayew; Vardy
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Krafth, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Willock; Murphy, Wilson, Barnes
We say: Leicester City 0-2 Newcastle United
Newcastle may not be able to deploy their most fearsome attack at the King Power Stadium, but the EFL Cup winners still have our vote to condemn Leicester to that familiar sinking feeling.
As lethal as Van Nistelrooy was in his playing days, his current side are anything but, and the Foxes will likely have made unwanted English football history by the full-time whistle.
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