Leicester City will be looking forward to continuing its streak in St. James Park on Saturday. The last match slipped away from under them at the death when an injury time free kick from Burnley’s Ross Wallace, levelled the score, and disrupted their third potential victory. Newcastle, on the other side of the field, are yet to put a victory on the board this season and are looking at the relegation zone, not far away. The up coming matches are also not promising as they meet the Hotspurs and Liverpool at home, which will be tight. That being said, Newcastle is listed as the favourite to win this match, the odds at 4/5.
Both teams are not at their performing best though, with the Newcastle coach and manager in the spotlight. The team coaching and management has been called out and Alan Pardew, has got to pull a victory if he hopes to not only drag the team out of relegation, but also keep his place as manager. In a release, Pardew confirmed that Gabriel Obertan will hold his position in the line-up in the match against The Foxes.
As of now, Newcastle is one of the only two sides that have not won any matches this season. The other one is Burnley, they have registered four draws till now. Off the international break, Leicester will look to come out strong, despite the team suffering many injuries. Five of their players are doubtful on Saturday’s game – Davide Santon with a knee injury, Ryan Taylor with ligament damage, Rolando Aaron with a hamstring and Siem De Jong with an injured thigh. Papiss Cisse might return to lead the strike after recovering from his injuries. He is much needed as he has scored in two of his last three games and also because his team is low in confidence on the attack front.
Leicester City, is as of now on a high as, apart from the last 2-2 with Burnley, their previous two matches have put them at the 12th place, just barely behind Hull City. Their highest scorer has been Ulloa, with five goals so far, accounting for two wins, one home and one away. They have no major injuries coming blocking them after the international break. The only doubtful in the squad is England defender Matthew Upson who is still under rest from his foot injury. The other absentee will be the long-time-in-rest Zoumana Bakayogo after his cruciate ligament took a hit.
Even though the odds are against them, Leicester will be looking at taking this match home as well. This is a team that in the beginning of the tournament, boasted of an immense amount of talent and drive, as the season is only seven matches old. It is a team that has the potential and the talent to make a mark this year. As for Newcastle, they need to be wary of the Foxes’ attack and find their drive and manage a win. At this stage, a draw will just not do.