Ruud van Nistelrooy has made an impressive start as Leicester City manager but faces his toughest test yet as his side visit St James' Park for a Premier League clash with Newcastle United.
The Dutchman was unbeaten in his four-game stint as caretaker Manchester United boss and has yet to taste defeat two matches into his reign at the King Power Stadium.
A 3-1 debut win at home to West Ham, which saw a goals bet come up for me, was followed up by a great point at home to Brighton as the Foxes came from 2-0 down to salvage a draw in the last five minutes.
That has left Leicester City five points clear of the drop zone yet the bookies still make them one of the favourites for relegation, with Van Nisterlrooy's men odds-on for an instant return to the EFL Championship.
They will outsiders again at St James' Park, despite Newcastle United going through a poor spell of form that has seen them go four games without a win.
Eddie Howe's side impressed in their last home game as they held leaders Liverpool in a 3-3 thriller but were poor at weekend as they crashed to a 4-2 loss on the road at Brentford.
How the bookies view it: Foxes written off
Newcastle have been pretty strong at home for most of Howe's reign and BoyleSports make them 2/7 hot favourites for this one. Leicester City are 8/1 outsiders and even the draw is pretty big at 9/2.
Recent head to head: Magpies want to keep flying
Newcastle went unbeaten across the three meetings in league and cup when Leicester were last in the top flight two seasons ago, with two wins and one draw. But this fixture has been tight in recent years, with the last 14 games producing six victories apiece and two draws.
Players to watch: Alexander the great
Newcastle United are leaning heavily on Alexander Isak for inspiration this season and the Swede has scored six times in his last eight outings. He's just 3/4 for anytime scorer in this one with BoyleSports but backing him to break the deadlock boosts the odds to 3/1. Isak is also a tempting 4/1 with Bet365 to provide an assist.
Jamie Vardy has scored in the first two games of Van Nistelrooy's reign and the veteran striker just keeps delivering. He's 7/2 with BoyleSports for another goal here, which looks a little generous.
Probable line-ups
All of Newcastle's absentees are in defence, with Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth still sidelined. Leicester City have Facundo Buonanotte back after he was ineligible against parent club Brighton. But Boubakary Soumare is suspended while Jakub Stolarczyk, Ricardo Pereira, Abdul Fatawu and Harry Winks are set to miss out with injury again.
Newcastle United: Pope, Schar, Hall, Livramento, Burn, Joelinton, Tonali, Guimaraes, Barnes, Isak, Gordon.
Leicester City: Hermansen, Justin, Coady, Kristiansen, Vestergaard, Ndidi, El Khannouss, Buonanotte, Skipp, McAteer, Vardy.
Anything else catch the eye?
Leicester have provided plenty of entertainment since Van Nistelrooy took charge, with BTTS and over 3.5 goals coming up in both their matches. Newcastle's last two games have averaged six goals so it bodes well for a decent game here.
Combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals looks good value at evens with Bet365 while BoyleSports price over 3.5 goals at 11/10.
Newcastle should dominate possession and the corner count could rack up as they try to break down Leicester's defence. Over 11.5 flag kicks pays 11/10 at BoyleSports while backing the Magpies at -4 in that handicap is 7/5 with the same firm.
This English Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City will be played on Dec 14, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Newcastle United vs Leicester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
