Newcastle United v Leicester City injury news with 9 out and 5 doubts as Magpies eye top-four spot

Newcastle United’s hopes of securing a place in next season’s Champions League were given a huge boost on Saturday as Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa left them needing just one point to seal a top-four spot.

Jacob Ramsey gave Villa the lead at Anfield as Liverpool were denied a penalty late in the first half while they saw a goal chalked off by VAR for offside on a controversial afternoon on Merseyside.

Roberto Firmino struck late on to rescue a point as Liverpool saw their seven-game winning streak ended. The result has left the Magpies and Manchester United requiring just one point from their final two games to finish in the top four.

For Newcastle, those games come against Leicester City on Monday before they end the campaign with a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.

Leicester are facing a number of injury concerns as they sit three points adrift of Everton in 17th ahead of Monday’s clash.

Kelechi Iheanacho has been out with a groin issue of late but is back in full training while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a doubt after having an injection in his ankle.

Foxes boss Dean Smith also confirmed Çağlar Söyüncü is poised to remain out against Newcastle with a hamstring problem.

“Kelechi was in training today and he’ll be in full training on Saturday morning,” Smith said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“Kels has ticked all the boxes he’d need to. We’ve probably had to press the fast-forward button, but it’s needs must at the moment. [Söyüncü’s] back jogging but very slowly. The plan is to get him ready for the last game of the season.

“[Dewsbury-Hall] has had an injection into his ankle. It’s a little but stiff at the moment but we’re hoping to have him training on Saturday morning. Ki is probably the biggest worry. He hasn’t trained yet.”

Jonny Evans returned to the Leicester side for last Monday’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool while Ryan Bertrand remains a doubt after only featuring for under-21s recently.

James Justin, Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ward are all sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Eddie Howe has revealed Sean Longstaff is a doubt while Joe Willock is unlikely to feature after leaving Thursday’s win over Brighton on crutches.

Howe said on Friday: “We’ve got a few concerns. The lads gave so much to the game yesterday and they’ve given a lot to the season physically. I hope there’s no serious effects.

“It looks like Joe Willock may be in trouble with his hamstring and we might lose him for the rest of the season but that’s unclear as I sit here now. Fingers crossed, our team will still be strong.

“Sometimes, after a game, there’s a lot of emotion running through the players’ bodies so injuries can appear worse at that moment. I certainly hope that is the case and they wake up today feeling a bit better.

“As this moment, Sean Longstaff is doubtful. He hasn’t trained. He’s improving but we’ll wait and see.”

Jacob Murphy missed the Brighton game due to a groin issue while Joelinton limped off during the victory but is only a minor concern.

Emil Krafth, Matt Ritchie and Jamaal Lascelles are out for the remainder of the season while Ryan Fraser won’t feature again this season after being frozen out of the first-team set-up.