Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker make contrasting claims ahead of Leicester City v Newcastle United

Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have delivered contrasting assessments of the state of their former clubs as Newcastle United prepare to visit Premier League strugglers Leicester City on Monday night.

The Magpies are riding the crest of a wave at the moment after Eddie Howe’s side ended their 70-year wait for major domestic silverware by lifting the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 Wembley win against Liverpool last month. The euphoria that enveloped Tyneside continued last weekend when over 300,000 supporters packed out the city centre and Town Moor as the Magpies played paraded the trophy.

A successful return to Premier League action came in midweek when United battled their way past a lively Brentford side to hand a boost to their hopes of returning to the Champions League for the second time in Howe’s managerial reign at St James Park. After taking the lead on the brink of half-time with a deflected effort from top scorer Alexander Isak, the Magpies were pegged back when Bryan Mbeumo converted from the penalty spot after Nick Pope had collided with Yoane Wissa.

However, Newcastle would not be denied as a stunning strike from Sandro Tonali gave them all three points and ensured they will head to the King Power Stadium looking for a third consecutive win in all competitions and one that would push their hosts closer to relegation into the Championship.

“An incredible chance”

When it was suggested Newcastle are well placed to claim a Champions League spot, former Magpies captain Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast: “Yeah, really good. They’ve got a game in hand as well over the rest of them. I think their game in hand is Palace at home in midweek in a couple of weeks' time. And if they were to win their game in hand and they keep on winning, I think they go above City and above Chelsea. So it's looking really, really good. They've got an incredible chance to have a magnificent season, which has already got the trophies. So, incredible.”

“We're going down”

By contrast, Leicester head into Monday night’s meeting with the Magpies 12 points from safety and an immediate return to the Championship appears to be increasingly inevitable. For lifelong Foxes fan Gary Lineker, who made almost 200 appearances for his boyhood club between 1978 and1985, avoiding the drop into the second tier is already a done deal as the final games of a difficult season draw closer.

The former England striker said: “A good win for Ipswich (against Bournemouth), their first of the year, first Premier League win this year, which was good for them. It'll be too little too late and with Wolves winning as well, it’s done. They've done the bottom. We're going down. We're going to win a few games next season. Possibly.”

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