Pundits make Newcastle United vs Leicester predictions as Fabian Schar wants more than safety

Here are the latest Newcastle United headlines for Saturday, April 16.

Leicester City beat Newcastle United 4-0 earlier this season, but Newcastle's season had been resurrected since then, and the pundits' predictions for the reverse fixture reflect that.

The Foxes arrive at St James' Park tomorrow still recovering from their win in Europe on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe’s men are still chasing mathematical safety and perhaps more.

Mark Lawrenson went for a 2-1 win to Newcastle, writing in his BBC column: “I was getting a bit worried about Newcastle last week because their form had slumped, but they improved against Wolves and got the win as well.

“Before then, the Magpies had lost three in a row but all three of those defeats were away from home and I'd expect them to be better at St James' Park. I'm backing them here too, although Leicester are so up and down it makes predicting their results very difficult.”

Former Newcastle striker Michael Owen thought it would be a 1-0 win to the Magpies, writing for BetVictor: “It was by no means a classic, but Newcastle’s win over Wolves was a vital win. That’s put some real breathing space between them and the bottom three and they are virtually safe.

"Defensively, they’ve shown a massive improvement since January."

Paul Merson was less certain though, predicting a 2-2 draw in his SportsKeeda column: “Newcastle are still a big football club and picked up a massive win against Wolves the other day. Both teams have a shot at winning this game."

Read the full predictions here.

Fabian Schar says Newcastle are still chasing more points, despite their current relative safety. His words came after some pundits had suggested that the side are already thinking about the summer