Can Rafa Benitez this Monday evening?

Last time the two sides met the Foxes came away with a 3-0 win at St James Park, and since then their diverging paths have only become more pronounced. Stuck in 19th place on 24 points, a comfortable 8 ahead of the effectively already-relegated Aston Villa but 1 behind both 17th place Sunderland and 18th place Norwich, the Toon’s flaccid form has finally seen Steve McClaren given the boot, Rafa Benitez swapping the majesty of Madrid for a nippy March in Newcastle.

And what a mess Benitez inherits. It is hard to discern whether things have got any better or worse for Newcastle since 2016 began given that they have effectively been flat-lining from the start of the season. A 3-3 draw against Manchester United alongside victories against Wests both Ham and Brom hinted at nascent changes in form, only for each moment of hope to be snuffed out with yet another string of losses, most recently 3 on the trot against Chelsea, Stoke and Bournemouth. Georgino Wijnaldum remains the Toon’s top scorer with a mere 9 goals, and goes into Monday at a Super Mega PGM of 10-14; Papiss Demba Cisse, meanwhile, is at 17-21, whilst Aleksander Mitrovic is at 16-20.



Benefiting from a far less cluttered schedule than their fellow title contenders Tottenham, Arsenal and (just about) Manchester City, Leicester will be looking to re-establish their 5 point lead at the top of the table with a routine victory over the terrible Toon. Yet whilst still league leaders Leicester haven’t looked at their best in the past month; a loss to Arsenal and a draw against West Brom joined wins 1-0 wins against Norwich and Watford, a marked change in form compared to the muscular victories against Liverpool, Stoke and Manchester City in the run up to that defeat at the Emirates.

The Foxes’ star duo also haven’t been at their best. Jamie Vardy, at a Super Mega PGM of 53-61 with his league-leading 19 goals (a feat he now shares with Harry Kane), has only scored once in the last 5 games, whilst Riyad Mahrez, at a Super Mega PGM of 33-39 with 15 league goals, only has 2 in the same period. Of course given Newcastle’s leaky back line (their 53 conceded the third worst tally in the league) there is more than a good chance that both Vardy and Mahrez will find a rich vein of form when the Toon travel to the King Power Stadium.

Whilst the Toon will be hoping that the recent change at the top will see them avoid relegation, Benitez has likely had too little time to really make much different just yet, leaving the Foxes with a fairly easy challenge, Spreadex offering a Leicester/Newcastle Goal Supremacy spread of 1-1.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.8-3.

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