Newcastle Toons
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Newcastle United: A preview of the club’s April fixtures

By Declan Ryan

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 20: Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on January 20, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 20: Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on January 20, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /
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LEICESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: Islam Slimani of Leicester City looks on during a Leicester City training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against FC Copenhagen at Belvoir Drive Training Facility on October 17, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 17: Islam Slimani of Leicester City looks on during a Leicester City training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against FC Copenhagen at Belvoir Drive Training Facility on October 17, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

April 7th: Leicester City (Away)

A tough away trip to eighth-place Leicester kicks off April in what could be an exciting but nervy game for Newcastle United. After a Sixth Round FA Cup home loss to Chelsea on March 18th, the Foxes can now shift their attention to consolidating their position in the top half of the table.

Leicester have won only one of their last five league matches, but a 4-1 win over West Brom and a trip to Brighton on March 31st could see them in high spirits prior to hosting Newcastle. The reverse fixture on December 9th saw a soul-crushing 3-2 defeat for the Toon thanks to a bizarre Ayoze Perez 86th-minute own-goal, and Rafa Benitez will undoubtedly be looking to tighten things up in defence this time around.

Jamie Vardy has contributed 14 league goals this season, and Riyad Mahrez a remarkable ten goals and eight assists. Both are lightning quick and therefore expect Newcastle to sit deep and limit any opportunities for them to run into open space behind the Toon back four.

Encouraging for Newcastle is that in two of their last three games, they’ve scored two or more goals. Much lamented striker Dwight Gayle has looked much improved in leading the line, and both Mohamed Diame and Jonjo Shelvey have performed excellently in breaking up opposition attacks and supplying their team-mates in forward positions.

Whilst hindering the fast, attacking football of Leicester will be Benitez’s main focus, Newcastle have played with a much greater tempo and purpose recently, and both Kenedy and Matt Ritchie underlined this in their goals against Southampton. Confidence is high at St. James’ Park, but repeating that performance away from Tyneside is the real challenge.

Prediction: 1-1 draw