Van Nistelrooy promises Leicester will fight on ahead of Newcastle clash

Ruud van Nistelrooy has pledged Leicester City volition combat to the end, contempt their relegation from the Premier League being a near-certainty up of facing Newcastle United.

Leicester are 15 points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves aft Vitor Pereira’s squad bushed Ipswich Town 2-1 connected Saturday, a effect that looks to person settled the relegation battle.

Southampton became the archetypal squad successful Premier League past to beryllium relegated with 7 games of the play remaining connected Sunday, and Leicester and Ipswich whitethorn not beryllium acold down them.

Van Nistelrooy admitted aft Wednesday’s 2-0 nonaccomplishment to Manchester City that Leicester’s relegation was inevitable, but helium insists the Foxes volition stay professional.

“We person to get up. It’s my work to bash my occupation the champion I tin for the past 8 games,” helium said.

“I don’t look further on. It’s hard capable to support the spirits up and everyone unneurotic due to the fact that it’s not going well. We are a squad and we instrumentality together. If we bash that we person a accidental of results.”

Asked however helium is dealing with the work of starring Leicester done a miserable campaign, helium added: “It’s thing that I consciousness I privation to spell done with the team, the squad and the staff.

“Stay unneurotic and enactment connected. Fight done this arsenic people. We request to springiness everything each time to get retired of this.

“It is not thing I privation to locomotion distant from. I privation to combat each day. We volition combat until the end.”

Newcastle, meanwhile, boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a 2-1 triumph implicit Brentford past clip out, and they subsequently saw rivals Nottingham Forest and Chelsea driblet points.

The lone antagonistic for the Magpies was the show of Alexander Isak going disconnected with a knock. Howe says they indispensable “wait and see” connected the striker’s availability but has questioned the cognition of the Swede being wounded prone.

“Look astatine my grounds – I was precise wounded prone,” Howe said. “Alex surely isn’t.

“He has a physio helium uses successful conjunction with the shot nine that volition alert successful and out. We backmost that and person a bully narration with that.

“It is astir gathering relationships and spot truthful helium knows we are doing close enactment for him and his assemblage too.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester City – Bobby De Cordova-Reid

Since De Cordova-Reid scored an equaliser successful a 2-2 gully with Brighton successful December, each of the past 18 Premier League goals astatine the King Power Stadium person been scored by the distant side.

Only West Brom (22 successful a enactment successful December/January successful 2020-21) person ever had a longer tally of goals scored by the distant broadside successful location games, with the 22nd and last extremity successful that tally scored by Cordova-Reid, erstwhile helium played for Fulham.

Newcastle United – Alexander Isak

Isak has scored 8 goals successful his past six Premier League appearances against sides starting the time successful the relegation zone, including 5 successful his past two.

The Swede got a hat-trick versus Ipswich successful December and a brace against Southampton successful January. If helium is passed fit, helium is definite to origin Leicester problems.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN

Leicester person mislaid 10 location Premier League games this play – successful their league history, they person ne'er mislaid 11 astatine location successful a azygous run (also 10 defeats successful 1913-14, 1977-78, 1994-95 and 2022-23).

Newcastle, meanwhile, person won 7 distant Premier League matches this play and could triumph 8 oregon much connected the roadworthy for a 2nd clip nether Eddie Howe (also 8 successful 2022-23).

They had lone done truthful 3 times earlier helium joined the nine (nine successful 1993-94 nether Kevin Keegan, 9 successful 2001-02 nether Bobby Robson, 8 successful 2011-12 nether Alan Pardew).

Leicester person mislaid each of their past 7 location Premier League matches, failing to people successful each 1 of those games.

In English top-flight history, the lone broadside to spell 8 location games successful a enactment without a extremity were Manchester City betwixt January and May 2007, who drew 2 and mislaid six of those games.

The Foxes could besides go the archetypal broadside successful Football League past to suffer 8 location league games successful a enactment without scoring a extremity – Watford besides mislaid 7 successful a enactment betwixt December 1971 and March 1972.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester City – 17.3%

Newcastle United – 60.4%

Draw – 22.3%