Soccer English Premier League Prediction

Newcastle vs Leicester - Match Preview

⚽ 22 May 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0

After dispatching Brighton 4-1 on Thursday to bring European football back to St James’ Park after more than a decade of longing, Newcastle United begin the weekend just one further win (or a Liverpool defeat) from sealing their first UEFA Champions League campaign in two decades. In the aftermath of that success, Eddie Howe praised his side’s ability to enact a game plan built on “high intensity”, having seen his charges net multiple goals for the fifth time in six outings.

While the lack of a Newcastle clean sheet in that time provides a minor argument against a home win, the reverse fixture (W 3-0) was another example of the Magpies’ destructive potential. Memorably, they were 2-0 up by the ten-minute mark in that Boxing Day TKO, and after also knocking Leicester City out of the Carabao Cup just weeks later, the Tyneside outfit clearly has a great chance of their first league double over the Foxes since 1994/95.

Just seven years after becoming the unlikeliest English champions of all time, Leicester’s Premier League status is hanging by a thread, and they could even line up for this match, already relegated, depending on results elsewhere over the weekend. As it is, they are winless in four (D2, L2) after painfully leaking ten goals so far in May, with both defeats seeing them trail to nil at half-time by a multi-goal margin and permitting at least one opposition player to net a brace.

Leicester’s current seven-game winless run on the road (D2, L5) only compounds the feeling that they face a mountainous task to stay up, even with the Foxes netting in their five most recent tests on hostile turf. And as if that wasn’t enough, Leicester boss Dean Smith also has a 60% loss rate against his touchline counterpart Eddie Howe (W1, D1, L3)!

📋 Players to watch: Including the reverse fixture, Newcastle have won by 3+ goals in all of Joelinton’s five prior goalscoring PL games this term! Meanwhile, if anyone can help Leicester evade doom, it’s surely Harvey Barnes – he scored a second-half brace in their preceding road trip, meaning that his last five away goals arrived after half-time.

⚡ Hot stat: Leicester’s PL trips have seen an away league-high 14 goals (either way) inside the opening quarter-hour.