Newcastle v Leicester predictions: Magpies can move closer to Wembley final

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Newcastle United v Leicester City in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Football, 8pm Tuesday

Best bet

Newcastle and under 3.5 goals
1pt 13-10 Coral

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Team news

Newcastle
Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Targett and Emil Krafth remain sidelined and Allan Saint-Maximin is doubtful due to illness.

Leicester
James Justin, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand miss out. James Maddison and Dennis Praet are doubts.

Match preview

Newcastle suffered the blow of a shock FA Cup exit at the weekend, going down 2-1 at Sheffield Wednesday, but they can respond with an EFL Cup quarter-final success over Leicester at St James' Park.

The Magpies' last major knockout success was in the 1969 Fairs Cup and their trophy drought is a long-running source of frustration for fans.

Huge steps forward have been made over the last 12 months as Newcastle have progressed from relegation candidates to top-four contenders and while qualifying for the Champions League is their top priority, there should be a concerted effort to go as far as possible in the EFL Cup.

Eddie Howe made eight changes for Saturday's contest at Sheffield Wednesday but was left questioning his decision after the League One hosts claimed a famous victory.

A combination of poor defending and poor finishing was costly in a match largely dominated by the Magpies, and Howe's men will be looking to brush up on penalty box detail against the Foxes.

Howe will be desperate to avoid a second elimination in four days and could recall several first-team regulars.

And a close to full-strength Newcastle should be too strong for a Leicester side hampered by injuries to key players and preoccupied by thoughts of their ongoing relegation battle.

Foxes' manager Brendan Rodgers rested a bunch of key players for Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup third-round success at Gillingham and is likely to go with a stronger setup on Tyneside.

However, his main priority is Saturday's East Midlands derby at Nottingham Forest which looks a key contest in Leicester's battle to stay above the drop zone.

Leicester were on the rise before the World Cup, winning six of seven games, but they suffered three successive losses after the resumption to leave themselves two points above the bottom three.

Injuries to senior players have been a key factor and nobody has been missed more than England World Cup squad member James Maddison, who has totted up seven Premier League goals and four assists this term.

Maddison has been slowly recovering from a knee injury sustained in a 2-0 success at West Ham in early November and hopes to return at some point this week.

However, the 26-year-old is unlikely to be rushed and it seems more likely that he features prominently at the City Ground than St James' Park.

Without their creative talisman Leicester are a much-reduced threat and they seem likely to slide to a low-scoring defeat.

Key stat

Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 12 home games

Inside info

Newcastle

Penalty taker Callum Wilson
Assist ace Bruno Guimaraes
Set-piece aerial threat Fabian Schar
Card magnet Joelinton

Leicester

Penalty taker Jamie Vardy
Assist ace Youri Tielemans
Set-piece aerial threat Wout Faes
Card magnet Wilfred Ndidi

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