Willock returns in place of Almiron: Predicted Newcastle lineup to face Leicester City

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Newcastle have the chance to effectively secure survival on Friday night against Leicester.

A win at the King Power would increase the gap to 12 points between ourselves and Fulham. That would mean Scott Parker’s side have to beat Burnley on Monday night to have any chance of catching us.

However, we face a tough task taking on a Leicester side looking to secure Champions League football.

We’ve struggled against the Foxes since Steve Bruce became manager, but who will he pick to start on Friday night?

Fabian Schar banned

Fabian Schar’s red card has not been overturned after an appeal, meaning he will be suspended for the trip to Leicester.

Therefore, we will likely see the same back five that started against Arsenal last week.

Jacob Murphy had a tough afternoon up against Gabriel Martinelli, and will need to be more defensively switched on against an exciting Leicester team.

Joe Willock returns

While he might not like being called a super sub, that’s exactly what Joe Willock has been in recent weeks.

The midfielder came off the bench to score against Tottenham, West Ham and Liverpool, helping deliver a valuable five points.

He didn’t feature last week due to being ineligible against his parent club, but the 21-year-old is available to return.

Willock hasn’t started since the defeat to Brighton, but his impact off the bench means he deserves a chance from the off.

However, it’s difficult to predict who he will replace.

Many fans would prefer him to replace the out of sorts Jonjo Shelvey, while Sean Longstaff struggled last week against Arsenal.

However, I expect Miguel Almiron to drop out instead. The current system doesn’t suit the Paraguayan at all.

Wilson and Saint-Maximin up top

While they struggled against Arsenal, it’s very like that Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin will continue up front together.

Newcastle will be looking at the Frenchman for creativity, having been in inspired form since returning form injury.

However, they were too reliant on him against Arsenal. Saint-Maximin struggled, as he came deeper and deeper to get possession.

Meanwhile, Wilson barely had a sniff of goal.

It will be tough up against Leicester, but, with Saint-Maximin and Wilson, we certainly have the ability to hurt them in the final third.

Predicted XI vs Leicester: Dubravka; Murphy, Fernandez, Clark, Dummett, Ritchie; S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Willock; Saint-Maximin, Wilson.