The King Power Stadium plays host to an exciting Premier League encounter on Friday evening.

Leicester City enter the clash after facing Southampton on the last matchday and failing to further capitalize the third position. The Foxes face Manchester United, Chelsea (twice) & finally Tottenham on the last match week. A win will prove to be huge.  

Newcastle United, on the other hand, will be looking to secure top-flight survival as they sit nine points clear of 18th placed relegation-bound Fulham. They will hope to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 loss to Arsenal.

Here are the predicted line-ups for both the teams:

Brendan Rodgers is expected to start with a familiar 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 setup.

James Justin, Harvey Barnes & Wes Morgan are the only absentees, as they sit out with long-term injuries.

Ricardo Pereira is expected to return to the starting eleven after Rodgers said he was ‘pretty sure’ of the Portuguese’s inclusion in his pre-match conference.

Ayoze Perez might see some starting time behind Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy, but James Maddison’s inclusion in the starting line-up should definitely not be excluded altogether.

Jonny Evans is bound to take back his position as the defensive general alongside Wesley Fofana and Caglar Soyuncu.

Leicester City XI: Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Pereira, Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Perez; Vardy, Iheanacho.

Steve Bruce is likely is stick to his 5-3-2 formation, which has been the club’s go-to formation for the most part of the season.

Fabian Schar will be missing the game due to his final minute red card against Arsenal in the 2-0 loss.

Ryan Fraser, Isaac Hayden, Jamaal Lascelles & Karl Darlow are the players who make the absentee list for the Magpies.

Newcastle were on a decent run of form before their defeat at the hands of the Gunners and this might just prompt Steve Bruce to stick to his regular eleven without making too many changes.

Newcastle XI: Dubravka; Fernandez, Clark, Dummett; Ritchie, Shelvey, Longstaff, Almiron, Murphy; Joelinton, Saint-Maximin

Both clubs enter the clash with underwhelming results that will likely have great repercussions on the final table standings.

Leicester have won eight of their last ten Premier League matches against Newcastle.

The Foxes will have comparatively more incentive for a victory than the Magpies, as they look for a top-four finish. Vardy & Iheanacho’s form in front of goal will be hard for Newcastle to contain but the midfield battle is likely the game-changer for both teams.

Throughout the season, Leicester have been consistently remarkable in midfield and that is where the game will be won.

Leicester City 2-0 Newcastle United

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