Alan Pardew will hope to relieve some of the pressure on his shoulders as his Newcastle side host a comfortable Leicester outfit on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the constant negativity on Tyneside and demands for Pardew to be sacked, the former West Ham boss has seen his side fight back to draw games 2-2 in two of their last three games, which surely proves he has not lost the dressing room.

The most recent of these comebacks came at the Liberty Stadium a fortnight ago where Papis Cisse levelled twice, just like he did against Hull at home a couple of weeks prior. However, despite the dislike for the Toon boss, a win, and a number of successive victories, will be the only factor that could get the fans back on side. 

This is because simply the stats don't lie. With only four league wins this calendar year they are one of two sides yet to register three points in a game this season. Being at home might be the worst thing for Newcastle at the moment as there will still be massive expectation to win this game, but Leicester will give them a tough game.

Leicester City have also dropped off a bit in recent weeks after picking up a healthy points tally, considering their opponents in the opening month. However, they would have been disappointed to pick up just one point out of a possible six against Burnley at home and Palace away.

There was a fair bit of criticism aimed Nigel Pearson's men's way following the Burnley draw with particiular focus on goalkeeper Casper Schemical after Ross Wallace's last minute costless kick. The Danish keeper was scrutionised for standing too far to one side of the goal and offering the corner where the ball went ultimately costing his side two points.

Former Newcastle assistant manager Nigel Pearson is likely to fancy his chances on Tyneside though as the hosts will be forced to play an aggresive, attacking game that may well favour the pace he has within his team - which was proven against Manchester United a few weeks back.

Team News

There are no fresh injury concerns for Newcastle however midfielder Cheick Tiote and striker Papis Cisse only got back from international duty on thursday night.

Same situation for Nigel Pearson really with just Riyad Mahrez and Jeffrey Schlupp to check back following playing in Africa.

Stats

Newcastle have conceded two or more goals in nine of their last 12 Premier League games at St James Park.

Leicester's Jamie Vardy has been caught offside 5 times this season, more than Newcastle's entire squad.

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About the author
Jamie Joslyn
20 year old sports journalism at Sunderland University, huge Sunderland fan