Newcastle United restart their Premier League campaign with a trip to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Boxing Day.
The Magpies went into the World Cup break third in the table, in rollicking form and playing some wonderful stuff. They signed off the pre-World Cup tournament with a 1-0 home win over Chelsea.
The Toon Army even won each of their friendlies played in December and their EFL Cup round of 16 encounter against Bournemouth on Tuesday evening, thus, giving them the boost needed ahead of their season restart against Leicester City, who have won four of their last five games in the league.
Alexander Isak is still a doubt for the festive period, with his recovery from thigh injury not going as per the plan over the World Cup break. Like Isak, Emil Krafth (knee) and Paul Dummett (calf) have been absent since before the World Cup hiatus and didn’t feature in any of Newcastle United’s mid-season friendlies.
Goalkeeper
Nick Pope was a solid performer in goal for Newcastle during the first part of the season. He will be hoping to resume the season with a clean sheet at the King Power Stadium.
Defence
Sven Botman and Fabian Schar were the preferred central defensive pairing all throughout the first half of the campaign. They are back in business once again and will need to be at their best to keep an exciting Leicester City attack at bay.
Kieran Trippier has been a mainstay at right-back and is expected to start against the Foxes, while Dan Burn hopes to enjoy a solid outing from the left-back position.
Midfield
Bruno Guimaraes must pull the strings from his No.6 role, and thus, allow both Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff to join in the Newcastle attacks and make late runs in the box. The trio of Bruno, Longstaff and Willock have to be tenacious with their tackling and efficient in passing to dominate the home side in the middle of the park.
Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie will provide cover for midfield positions from the bench.
Attack
With Alexander Isak still injured, Callum Wilson is a shoo-in to lead the Newcastle attack. Wilson’s movement, physicality and runs in behind could cause problems for the Leicester City backline.
Joelinton and Miguel Almiron should operate on both flanks, providing energy, width and pace to the Magpies’ attack. After seven goals in his last eight outings, the onus will be on Almiron to create opportunities for Wilson in the box.
Allan Saint-Maximin is more than capable of coming off the bench and making an impact for the visitors.
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