BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson has given his weekly predictions on all Premier League fixtures this weekend. Lawrenson has Newcastle suffering a 2-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
This is Mark’s prediction in full:
Leicester’s big test comes next week when they go to Anfield, but they cannot take anything for granted here.
They will have to work hard to break Newcastle down, and scoring the first goal will be important.
The Magpies are well organised and their best result so far this season came on the road, with their win at Spurs.
I am not expecting Steve Bruce’s side to end up a relegation scrap but their form at St James Park does need to improve.
Newcastle will find it difficult this weekend at Leicester City. The Foxes find themselves in third place in the standings. However, they are likely to be without James Maddison who suffered an ankle injury at Tottenham last week.
Leicester will likely draft new signing Dennis Praet into the side in Maddison’s absence. Ayoze Perez could also get an increased role on Sunday. He has yet to score since joining Leicester for £30m this summer but will be desperate to turn that around against the Magpies.
Steve Bruce– can he orchestrate a shock win at Leicester?
Newcastle will need to show a reaction in this one after the dire performance against Brighton. We will likely see Sean Longstaff back in the side, and a start for French winger Allan Saint-Maximin could also be in the works. There could be a new formation on display in this match as well.
It’s interesting that Lawrenson mentions Newcastle’s home form. Newcastle have two very disappointing draws against Watford and Brighton in their last two home games. This will have to change for Newcastle to avoid a relegation scrap which Lawrenson believes they will be able to do.
While Newcastle are off to a better start points-wise this season, that is all down to a shock win at Spurs. Maybe Newcastle can do something similar against Leicester City on Sunday. However, it will be very difficult.
1 comment so far
JohnJ
Sep 26, 2019 at 7:01 PM
Comment #1The Wife
It’s a shame that we can’t have Thumbs up or Thumbs down on the blog.
I think that when someone is really out of line the Thumbs down may make them think again about what to write on the blog. Some stuff is really beyond the pale at times so to speak.