Newcastle v Leicester team news: Maddison benched, Isak + Wilson start

A UEFA Champions League qualification spot and top-flight survival are on the line in tonight’s match at St James’ Park.

Kick-off is at 20:00 BST.

A point or better for Newcastle United ensures a top-four place, while a win for Leicester City takes them above Everton and out of the bottom three.

There’s a bit of a bombshell when it comes to the team news but it doesn’t concern the hosts, who bring back a fit-again Sean Longstaff in place of the injured Joe Willock.

Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson start together again, while Kieran Trippier shrugs off a minor injury to feature.

The real surprise is from the visitors’ camp, with both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes on the bench.

Ricardo Pereira also drops out as Harry Souttar, Luke Thomas and Kelechi Iheanacho come into Dean Smith’s starting XI.

The Foxes are lining up in a wing-back system this evening.

“We decided to change it. We need to be harder to beat. The last couple of games, we have needed lots of goals to win them so we needed to make a change. We picked a team we feel can compete.

“I had to think long and hard about it. Watching the game against Brighton, the first two goals are from set-pieces and I wanted another centre-back in the team.

“They were professional about it. I want them to be disappointed if they’re not paying but they see the bigger picture and understand why.” – Dean Smith on the benchings of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes

GAMEWEEK 37 LINE-UPS

Newcastle United XI: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, S Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton, Almiron, Isak, Wilson.

Leicester City XI: Iversen, Castagne, Souttar, Faes, Evans, Thomas, Soumare, Ndidi, Tielemans, Iheanacho, Vardy.

CHECK YOUR LIVE FPL RANK

If you haven’t seen already, the beta version of our new Premium Members Area gives you a customised dashboard detailing your latest points and where you rank in the world.

You can find it via this link and you only have to type in your FPL ID number (so no password/email) to see the visuals.