Newcastle United vs Leicester City 01/01/20

1 January 2020

Leicester City head to St. James Park to take on Newcastle United, hoping to extend their winning run in Premier League away (PL) H2Hs to four straight games.

The hosts will be looking to bounce back after back-to-back PL defeats that have both seen them score one goal apiece and concede at least two. As a result, none of Newcastle’s last six PL fixtures has ended in a draw (W3, L3), with four of those results (win/loss) seeing the winners on the day prevail by a narrow one-goal margin. Newcastle’s life has been much more comfortable at home this season, with 64% of their total league points coming on home turf. In fact, the Magpies have avoided defeat in eight successive PL home outings (W4, D4) before succumbing to a 2-1 loss to Everton last time out. Also, St. James Park has been a venue of entertainment recently, as four of Newcastle’s previous five PL home matches have produced over 2.5 goals and seen both teams hit the net.

Meanwhile, the visitors have halted a three-game winless PL streak (D1, L2), pulling off a tight 2-1 away win over West Ham. Sitting 11 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, the Foxes are very much in contention for a top-four finish in the PL, mainly thanks to their impressive form in the last ten league fixtures (W7, D1, L2). Notably, all nine of their results (win/loss) in that ten-game sequence have witnessed the winners on the day score at least two goals. Curiously, only one team has rescued more points after shipping the opener than Leicester (11), with Brendan Rodgers’ man turning around three of eight PL fixtures that have seen them allow the opening goal (W3, D2, L3). Also, the Foxes have picked up five wins in their last six PL road trips (W5, L1); with four of those successes coming via a multiple-goal margin.