Foxes Festive Fixtures Start At Home To Newcastle

The visiting Magpies will arrive in high spirits after securing their first win of the season last weekend under new manager Eddie Howe, but here are our five reasons why it’s Brendan Rodgers who should be all smiles following this weekend’s clash:

Youri Tielemans is back

The return from injury of Youri Tielemans is massive for Leicester. The Belgian international might not have been able to inspire Leicester to victory in Naples on his first game back on Thursday night, but his impact on the team cannot be overstated. The Foxes have won just two of the seven matches that the all-action midfielder has missed this season, which equates to a win percentage of 29 per cent. But that figure shoots up to 41 per cent when Tielemans has featured, which is no great surprise given how hard it is to replace his rare blend of technical ability, tactical intelligence and tireless work rate. Having got over an hour of running into his legs in Naples, the Belgian will be edging back towards full match fitness and his return should help the Foxes at both ends of the pitch.

Visiting vulnerabilities

Only Norwich have conceded more Premier League goals in 2021-22 than Newcastle, who have shipped an average of exactly two goals per game in their 15 league matches this season. And while much of the defensive damage was done prior to Howe’s arrival on Tyneside, the former Bournemouth manager has yet to make significant improvement in that area. His Magpies conceded five goals in his first two matches in charge and even allowed shot-shy Norwich to net at St James’ Park a fortnight ago – that goal was one of only three scored in eight away games for the Canaries this term.

Firing Foxes

There might be a few issues to shore up elsewhere, but there’s nothing wrong with Leicester’s attacking output. Only the top four and Manchester United have scored more goals than the Foxes this season and with Jamie Vardy showing no sign of slowing up and James Maddison finding his form in recent weeks, it would be a shock if Rodgers’ men weren’t able to find the net again this weekend.

A case for the defence

There’s no escaping the fact that the Foxes have struggled defensively this season but those rearguard wobbles can largely be attributed to the amount of enforced chopping and changing that Rodgers has had to make due to injuries. Key defenders Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira, Wesley Fofana and James Justin have missed either all of or significant chunks of the 2021-22 campaign thus far, necessitating regular changes in formation and personnel. It’s no surprise that there has been something of a lack of cohesion as a result.

Even with all that upheaval, the Foxes actually haven’t been particularly bad from open play this season, conceding just 13 such goals. It has been set-pieces that have been our undoing, with the Foxes conceding 13 goals from corners, free-kicks and penalties. That is far from ideal but with Pereira due back imminently and Fofana pencilled in for a return at the turn of the year, Rodgers should soon have a settled defensive group to select from. And, more importantly, it is less of a job training players to focus at set plays and cut out mistakes than it is to entirely restructure a defence that is leaking from open play.

Home comforts

Amid the doom and gloom of the last three results, it’s easy to forget that our recent winless run has come on the back of three successive away trips. Obviously, we’d have liked more than a single point from those matches but a draw at Southampton isn’t a bad result and Leicester weren’t outclassed in defeat to Napoli or Aston Villa, losing both times by a single goal away at strong opposition in good form.

A return to the King Power Stadium, where the Foxes have won their last two matches and have lost to only Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in 11 outings this season, should see an upturn in the Foxes fortunes.