Hamza Choudhury has been handed his first Premier League start of the season with Harry Winks unable to prove his fitness for [Leicester City’s trip to Newcastle.](https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/leicester-city-newcastle-live-updates-9792342)
Choudhury starts alongside Oliver Skipp in the deep midfield roles with Boubakary Soumare suspended and Wilfred Ndidi injured. Winks had been named as a doubt for the match by manager Ruud van Nistelrooy and he isn’t fit to feature.
Academy graduate Choudhury has only made one previous appearance in the Premier League, as a substitute in the draw at Crystal Palace, and has not played at all since September, having missed more than a month in early autumn with a dislocated shoulder. Teenager Henry Cartwright is the back-up midfielder on the bench and would make his senior debut if he featured.
The third and final change is somewhat of a surprise. It was expected that Jordan Ayew would drop out of the 11 but Facundo Buonanotte was expected to be his replacement. Instead, it’s Stephy Mavididi who comes in, the winger handed his first start under van Nistelrooy, with Buonanotte only among the substitutes.
With Kasey McAteer still in the side, Mavididi will likely be tasked with coming inside and joining Bilal El Khannouss in the no.10 positions when City have the ball. That will open up the space for Victor Kristiansen to attack down the left.
**City (4-2-3-1):** Hermansen; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Choudhury, Skipp; McAteer, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy. **Subs:** Ward, Thomas, Faes, Okoli, Cartwright, Buonanotte, Ayew, De Cordova-Reid, Daka.