Newcastle Utd 1 - 0 Leicester City - 18/10/14

[Yacob]

The international break has been and gone, despite what Alan Pardew tells you it does affect all Premier League teams, therefore it shouldn't impact on this weekend's fixture. There have been no fresh injuries from internationals, although Emmanuel Riviere has picked up a knock at the training ground, showing it may be beneficial to get away from the club in this period.

The pressure on Alan Pardew has become an afterthought in the press, with Mike Ashley's desires for Rangers becoming more central in the story of Newcastle United's season. It will be interesting to see the reaction to Pardew this weekend, with the Hull match being underwhelming after the talk of a major protest. If there is an atmosphere similar to that of last season's Cardiff game and the side fail to get their first win of the season, it could become a foregone conclusion that a managerial change will take place, especially if Newcastle lose at home for the second time this season.

The side has looked poor since the sale of Yohan Cabaye and the players brought in have yet to have any sort of impact. Siem de Jong and Remy Cabella have struggled settling in due to injuries and poor form respectively, which has seen the impetus placed on Gabriel Obertan, a player Pardew wanted to sell in the summer. Newcastle fans who are wishing for a good season will hardly be motivated when they see Obertan take his place from the start tomorrow. He has started the season well, but he should be nowhere near this side.

Leicester have started the season well, with wins over Stoke and Manchester United showing they can be a threat at this level. Their last away match saw them lose at Crystal Palace, and Newcastle should look at that for confidence, but the longer they go without a win, the harder it will become. Nigel Pearson will be returning to the club that employed him as a coach, before a short reign as caretaker manager. The likes of Esteban Cambiasso and Leonard Ulloa have brought class to the squad, with both likely to start at St James' Park this weekend.

Newcastle should be looking at this fixture as a must win, with a trip to Spurs to follow next weekend, they could be going into November without a win, which would be a disaster for a team of Newcastle stature. An ugly win is needed to boost the squad and relieve some of the pressure building on Tyneside, but Leicester will see this match as a good chance to continue their great start in the top flight.

Team News

Newcastle have a host of names missing, but Tim Krul has been passed fit after an injury scare while away with Holland. While Daryl Janmaat and Paul Dummett will feature after pulling out of international duty. Rolando Aarons, Siem de Jong and Davide Santon remain on the long term injury list, Emmanuel Riviere will also be missing. Ryan Taylor could make his long awaited comeback this is weekend.

Leicester City have few injury concerns this weekend, with Esteban Cambiasso carrying a knock, while Matt Upson is slightly more long term. The away side are likely to use all three of their strikers in Jamie Vardy, David Nugent and Leonard Ulloa, with all three offering a different kind of threat to Newcastle, with Vardy perhaps being the most dangerous as Newcastle are very slow at the back.

Expected Newcastle Line Up

.<krul>
<janmaat> <willo> <colo> <dummett>
<tiote> <colback>
<ober> <sissoko> <gouff>
<cisse>

Pardew will probably play it safe with three central midifielders, it would be nice to see Armstrong or Anita if he does opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation, but it's more likely Colback and Tiote will be used deeper, while Sissoko will get license to go forward. Obertan is going to start again, while Cisse will probably be leading the line on his own. There isn't a great deal he could do to the defence, even if he wanted to. It's not the best line up, but should be able to get the points against Leicester.

My line up

.<krul>
<janmaat> <willo> <colo> <dummett>
<ober> <tiote> <sissoko> <sammy>
<perez> <cisse>

I'd change the formation to a 4-4-2 to give Cisse more support, plus it would give the side more of an attacking mentality, something we have lacked for a long time. Ayoze Perez has always looked good in the matches he has played, and he seems to have the talent to create chances, while in Spain he was known as a good finisher. I'd like to see Ferryera on the bench as well given Riviere is out. Sammy probably deserves a chance after his cameo against Swansea. If we play with two natural wingers, we'll stretch the Leicester defence giving Sissoko room in front of the back four to make driving runs.

Prediction

I feel surprisingly optimistic going into this one, we have battled back in the last few matches to get draws, and as long as we don't concede early, we should have the quality to break Leicester down and get a couple of goals. They will offer a threat, especially if our defence is as bad as it can be, but we should have the quality and Pardew should have the luck to nick a result. I fancy a 2-1 home win. Cisse and Perez getting the goals.

Views from the managers

Pardew: "Leicester have had the result of the season as far as I'm concerned in beating Manchester United, so they can produce a great performance and we need to be wary of that. But this Club needs a win, for our fans, for our Club and everyone associated with it, so I'm desperate for that win this Saturday and I really hope we get it. We've worked hard on the players we have had and they've worked really well this week, I've been really pleased. We are in as good shape as we can be with the disruption the international week brings"

Pearson: "It's a fantastic place to play football - a great stadium and atmosphere. It's important that the fans enjoy that sort of experience but for us it's about a job to do and it's a big game for us - my focus remains very much on us and how we approach games. We have to go there and play at our best because regardless of where you go, the sides that are well established have got players that are experienced and quality as well and we've got to compete with that - all these games are interesting"

Places to watch the match: UK TV: None

Overseas TV:
Astro SuperSport 2 / HD2 (Malaysia)
Canal+ Yomvi (Spain)
Fox Sports Plus (Australia) (Ch 505 red button)
GO Sports 5 (Malta)
Gol Stadium (Spain)
NBC Sports Live Extra (USA)
PremierLeaguePass (NZ)
QQ Sports Live (China)
Sky Mexico
TSN 5 (Canada)

Live commentary on BBC Newcastle and TalkSPORT (overseas)

[bodacious benny]

I'm not a Sammy fan, but I'd rather start him over Gouff. We need to get back to a simple 4-4-2 and get the basics right.

[Dr. Bishop]

Sky Mexico

Could you clarify what country this channel is broadcast please?

[Colly]

Wales.

[Heisen]

Do we all think another defeat will be enough for him to get the boot then?

[LaFraise92]

Do we all think another defeat will be enough for him to get the boot then?

Nah, we won't sack him until we're sitting on 12 points in January.

[LONDONTOON]

We're relegated if we don't sack him, if we lose this

[Dr. Bishop]

Tottenham (a) - L
Liverpool (h) - L
West Brom (a) - D
QPR (h) - W
West Ham (a) - D
Burnley (a) - W
Chelsea (h) - L
Arsenal (a) - L
Sunderland (h) - L
Man Utd (a) - L
Everton (a) - L

If we don't win today then at best I can only see us getting 8 points from our remaining games until new year, which would put us on 12 points. That would almost certainly be bottom three. Sunderland had 14 points at new years so it would be possible, but it took the change of manager for them to get kick started.

[Goat]

Big pre-match news from St James' Park comes via journalist Iain Macintosh who reveals that Newcastle are no longer offering food in the press lounge - only soup.

That's one way to create some negative headlines...

It's like the club board sits down and just goes "I wonder if we can find any more ways to annoy people".

[bodacious benny]

Why should the press be given food anyway?

[Dr. Bishop]

There's apparently a problem with the big screen, and there are safety concerns about it. We can't even install a big screen correctly .

[dls]

Have you seen a picture of it too, it's f***ing tiny

[Goat]

Why should the press be given food anyway?

It's the fact they had received free snacks throughout all this time (as every other club offers) and then decided to pull it.

Plus, you would think a £30 weekly spread would be worth keeping for the journalists when they're the ones who write stories about the club.

[Diggerman]

So what happens now? I heard they're not letting people in. Another pint...

[TJR]

Rumours on twitter that the game might get called off because the club is so incompetent it can't even safely secure a TV to a wall

[Heisen]

Surely this big screen (which is smaller than my TV by the looks of it) should have had it's safety tests done before today? There shouldn't be safety concerns on the day of the bloody game.

[TJR]

Why should the press be given food anyway?

Its standard practice at every club. Ashley is just choosing to be a cronut again. Same with the big screen, its tiny.

[TJR]

Surely this big screen (which is smaller than my TV by the looks of it) should have had it's safety tests done before today? There shouldn't be safety concerns on the day of the bloody game.

Apparently its too windy today so the screen is flapping about

Unbelievable how incompetent everyone from top to bottom at this club is.

[Wedge Head Tiote]

Newcastle United FC ‏@NUFC 38s39 seconds ago
#NUFC v @OfficialFOXES (4-3-3): Krul; Janmaat, Coloccini (c), S.Taylor, Dummett; Sissoko, Colback, Tiote; Obertan, Cisse, Gouffran.

[Wedge Head Tiote]

No Williamson