It’s the battle of two former Liverpool managers in the Premier League tonight as Newcastle travel to Leicester in the Friday night kick-off.
And Mark Lawrenson believes that Brendan Rodgers will come out on top and make it five wins in a row – a run that’s already seen them leapfrog Wolves into seventh place in the league.
“Two former Liverpool managers go head to head here, with Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers up against Newcastle’s Rafael Benitez,” Lawrenson wrote on the BBC.
“I have a feeling Rodgers will come out on top, because he has got the Foxes at it – they have won their past four games – and Newcastle’s away form is not the greatest anyway.
“The Magpies have been relying on results at St James’ Park to keep them out of trouble, but I don’t see them getting dragged back into the relegation scrap because one more win will essentially see them safe.”
Lawrenson thinks that Leicester will win 2-0.
OPINION
Rodgers has enjoyed a fast return to the Premier League after leaving Celtic earlier this year and Leicester, and in particular Jamie Vardy, look a completely different proposition under his stewardship. We can’t see anything else but a Leicester win either and that will be three defeats in a row for Newcastle. Benitez has already got his side on the brink of safety though, with 35 points and a seven-point buffer between them and Cardiff in the drop zone. However, Cardiff have played a game less and Newcastle fans won’t want to spend the rest of the season looking over their shoulders. Lawrenson thinks one more win should do it for them and they play Fulham on the last day of the season – that could be their best bet for three points but it could lead to a nervy end to the season. We think that Leicester will dominate the possession tonight and Newcastle will hope to catch them on the break. Vardy and Rondon will be the key players and it’s the Leicester man who’s in brilliant form at the moment, with five goals in his last four games.