Newcastle are potentially just 90 minutes away from their first League Cup semi-final since 1976 but they will have to get through a tricky Leicester side who have a good record in the competition. The Foxes have won the League Cup on three occasions and reached three out of four finals between 1997 and 2000 - they have also made at least the quarter-final stage in five of the last six seasons.
But Newcastle can take some confidence in the fact they recently beat Brendan Rodgers’ side 3-0 at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day. The Magpies have also beaten Premier League opposition in Crystal Palace and Bournemuth to reach the last eight of the competition.
Leicester have several injury problems heading into the game with no fresh fitness boosts following the 1-0 FA Cup win over Gillingham on Saturday. Newcastle suffered a cup upset as League One side Sheffield Wednesday claimed a 2-1 win as Eddie Howe’s side suffered only their second defeat of the season in all competitions.
Howe will be hoping to welcome back key players such as Fabian Schar, Nick Pope and Callum Wilson, all of whom were rested over the weekend while Allan Saint-Maximin is expected to recover from an illness in order to be in contention.
The Newcastle head coach is expected to name as ‘full strength’ a side as possible in a bid to reach the final four of the competition.
Here’s the latest injury news ahead of the match with 11 players ruled out so far...
9. OUT: Jonjo Shelvey (NUFC)
Shelvey picked up a calf injury in the friendly win against Rayo Vallecano last month and has been sidelined after since. Eddie Howe is hopeful of having the midfielder back available by the end of February. | Getty Images
10. OUT: Matt Targett (NUFC)
Targett has been sidelined for a number of weeks with a heel injury. | Getty Images
11. OUT: Emil Krafth (NUFC)
Emil Krafth has been out since August after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup. Photo: Getty
12. DOUBT: Allan Saint-Maximin (NUFC)
The winger withdrew from Saturday’s FA Cup squad due to illness and head coach Eddie Howe said ‘we’ll have to wait and see’ if he is available for the Leicester match. It is expected that he’ll be named on the bench. Photo: Julian Finney