Two Premier League teams in the bottom half of the table square off at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle United play host to Leicester City.

Match preview

Since winning back-to-back Premier League games against Arsenal (1-0) and Nottingham Forest (3-1), Newcastle have failed to come out on top in any of their last four matches, picking up just two points in the process.

The Magpies rescue a respectable point in a thrilling 3-3 home draw with leaders Liverpool in their first game of December, but they suffered a "really frustrating" and "disappointing" 4-2 defeat at Brentford last weekend in the eyes of Eddie Howe, who bemoaned his side's defensive performance.

Five wins, five draws and five defeats have been posted by Newcastle across their 15 Premier League fixtures this season, and their inconsistent form leaves them sitting 12th in the table, five points behind the top six and seven points behind the top four.

Newcastle have been criticised by some, including club legend Alan Shearer, for only turning up for the so-called bigger games in recent weeks. Howe's side have taken points from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and high-flying Nottingham Forest since the end of September, but they failed to beat Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Brentford, losing the latter two teams.

The Magpies can take optimism from their record against newly-promoted teams, as they have lost just one of their last 21 such matches (W12 D8). However, they have only won one of their last seven top-flight home encounters with Leicester (D1 L5).

Since replacing Steve Cooper in the Leicester hotseat, Ruud van Nistelrooy has made a bright start to life at the King Power Stadium, picking up four points from his first two home games in charge of the Foxes.

A 3-1 home victory over West Ham United was followed by a 2-2 comeback draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in which Jamie Vardy and Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored in the 86th and 91st minutes respectively to salvage a point in dramatic fashion.

Leicester remain 16th in the Premier League table, but their new manager bounce under Van Nistelrooy has been rewarded, as they have capitalised on each of the bottom three teams losing their last two matches and subsequently sit five points clear of the relegation zone.

The Foxes will welcome Saturday's trip to St James' Park as they have won six Premier League away games against Newcastle, more than they have against any other opponent, and five of those have come across their last seven visits.

Including four games in interim charge of Man United, Van Nistelrooy is now preparing for his seventh Premier League match as a manger, but this will be his first away from home. In his illustrious playing career, the Dutchman played five times at St James' Park and scored in all five games - the joint-best 100% scoring rate by a player at the same stadium along with Leicester's Vardy at The Hawthorns.

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