Leicester City face off against Newcastle United in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s third match in charge.
So far, the Foxes have looked much improved under the Dutchman having collected a convincing win over West Ham and salvaged a late point against Brighton.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men will be looking to build on those results at St James Park, although he will have to do it without a key player.
Wilfred Ndidi is out for a couple of weeks after suffering an injury at home to the Seagulls while Harry Winks is a doubt for the game.
Ahead of the clash, the Premier League’s record goalscorer Alan Shearer delivered a scathing verdict of Newcastle, claiming the current feel around the club is similar to when Mike Ashley was at the helm.
Now, he’s issued his prediction for the match.
Amazon Prime Video UEFA Champions League pundit Alan Shearer during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 match between Manchester Cit...
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Alan Shearer issues Newcastle vs Leicester City prediction
In terms of recent form, Newcastle have won just one of their last four and were beaten 4-2 by Brentford last weekend.
Meanwhile, the overall history of this fixture goes in the favour of the Magpies, especially in recent times, as Leicester have lost four of their last six meetings.
Regardless of whether history is on the side of the hosts, Leicester will be confident in securing a positive result at St James Park.
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That being said, Shearer has unsurprisingly predicted a Newcastle home win on Saturday, writing in his column for Metro: “There’s been a lot of noise this week and clearly Eddie Howe wasn’t happy last weekend. I know Ruud has had a good start at Leicester, but i’m going to go for a home win.
“It’s a massive week for Newcastle, playing in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford on Wednesday and then Ipswich away the following weekend, which means they have three huge games.”
Jamie Vardy’s goal record vs Newcastle
It’s quite remarkable how at the age of 37, Leicester are still heavily reliant on Jamie Vardy to produce the goods in the final third.
The Englishman scored and assisted last weekend to rescue his side a point, and Bobby De Cordova Reid labelled Vardy an ‘absolute joke’.
Vardy also left Jermain Defoe stunned with just how efficient he is in front of goal, and the clinical striker will be called into action at St James Park.
In 16 matches against the Magpies, the veteran has been on the winning side nine times while scoring five goals and providing three assists.
However, the last time he scored in this fixture was in September 2019, netting a brace in a 5-0 rout, so he’ll be determined to end that drought.