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• Van Nistelrooy calls for calm after ‘hectic’ first week as Leicester boss

  Ruud van Nistelrooy said his first week in charge of Leicester City was “hectic”, but insisted a more measured approach will be taken moving forward to ensure the Foxes' Premier League survival.

  Van Nistelrooy was confirmed as Steve Cooper’s successor earlier this month and has had a fine start to his Foxes tenure, earning a win over West Ham and a late point against Brighton last time out.

  But up next for the Dutchman is his first away English top-flight fixture in management away to Newcastle United, and despite his promising start, he was not looking at the table at this early stage just yet.

  "It’s been a hectic week,” Van Nistelrooy said. "New ideas, two games played, training sessions to prepare.

  "Massive compliments to everybody at Leicester for welcoming me, for helping in any way possible and for the players to connect with each other in the new set-up. It’s been a great week.

  "I don’t think we have to look at the table and how many points. It’s good that we take four points ourselves and that’s the focus. We take the four points, and the players put in great performances as a team and as individuals.

  "That is the target moving forward, and we’re going to approach every game like that."

  Newcastle, meanwhile, were beaten by Brentford last Saturday as their inconsistent season continued with another tepid display on the road.

  Coming into this weekend’s clash, the Magpies have lost three of their last six Premier League away games (W1 D2), while in all competitions they are winless in four games (D2 L2).

  They have only suffered longer such runs under Eddie Howe in January 2022 (six games) and March 2023 (five games), with the Newcastle boss highlighting his side’s poor play in defence against the Bees as pivotal to the defeat. 

  "We are disappointed with the manner of goals we conceded. It’s not individual mistakes, there's two or three actions I'm not happy with for each goal. We have to do better in those situations," Howe said.

  "We had control of the game in the first half, then it got away from us after the third goal. We looked like a good attacking unit, but we have to put it all together, and it has led to inconsistent results.

  Newcastle are now without a win in their last four Premier League games, dropping them to 12th in the table, with Howe unable to put his finger on his side’s inconsistency this term.

  "A strange sequence for us, we had three consecutive wins against really good opponents, then we have had mixed performances. We have to get it over the line," Howe said.

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Newcastle – Alexander Isak

  Isak has been involved in 24 Premier League goals for the club in 2024 (19 goals, five assists), the most by a Newcastle player in a year since Alan Shearer in 2002 (27 goals, four assists).

  The only Magpies players to score 20+ goals in a year are Shearer (22 in 1999, 27 in 2002) and Andrew Cole (24 in 1994).

  Leicester – Jamie Vardy

  Vardy has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League appearances (four goals, three assists), including at least one in his last three. He could become the oldest player to score or assist in four consecutive top-flight outings if he does so at St. James’ Park.

  At 37-years-old, the Foxes man continues to prove that age is just a number. He has six goals and three assists in the Premier League this season and could become just the fifth player aged 37+ to have a hand in 10 goals in a single season.

  The other players to achieve this are Teddy Sheringham in 2003-04 (nine goals, four assists), Gary Speed in 2006-07 (eight goals, two assists), Ryan Giggs in 2011-12 (two goals, eight assists) and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021-22 (10 goals).

  MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE WIN

  Newcastle have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League meetings with promoted sides (W12 D8), going down 1-0 at Luton Town last season.

  However, the Magpies have won just one of their last seven Premier League home games against Leicester (D1 L5), though both times they’ve avoided defeat have come under Howe.

  But they have shipped 3+ goals in each of their last two Premier League games, last doing so in three games in a row in December and January last season. The Magpies have done so on 10 occasions in 2024, only doing so more often in 2021 (12) and 2014 (11) in a single year.

  This is Van Nistelrooy’s seventh game in charge of a Premier League side in all competitions this season, but the first time he’s managed a game away from home.

  In his playing career, the Dutchman played five games at St James’ Park and scored in every single game, the joint best 100% scoring ratio by a player at a venue, along with Foxes striker Vardy at the Hawthorns.

  And the Foxes have enjoyed recent trips to the North East. They have won six Premier League away games against Newcastle, more than they have versus any other opponent. Five of these victories have come in their last seven visits to St James’ Park.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Newcastle – 67.2%

  Draw – 18%

  Leicester – 14.8%

• Emery pleased with Villa ‘process’ but wary of Forest threat

  Unai Emery believes his Aston Villa side are in a strong position in their process as a team after putting one foot into the Champions League knockout stages with their win over RB Leipzig.

  Villa have won each of their last three games in all competitions, after winning just three of their previous 13 matches (D5 L5), moving them up to third in the new 36-team standings.

  The Villans know a victory against either Monaco or Celtic in their final two games in the Champions League will see them finish in the automatic positions in the table.

  And while the win pleased Emery, his immediate focus was on Villa’s upcoming trip to the City Ground this Saturday to take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

  "Sometimes a spell of bad results is coming. Sometimes good results now, with the three victories, two in the league and one today, can help us to feel confident and strong in our process," Emery said.

  "Today we are happy, but now I’m thinking about Saturday against Nottingham Forest and trying to recover quickly the players that played today and to get the others ready."

  Tuesday’s match-winner Ross Barkley echoed his manager’s thoughts, saying: "Important, we needed that win. It pushes us higher up the table, and we’ve done really well in the Champions League.

  "One game at a time, we’ve got to try and win the games. That’s our focus, that’s our aim, to get through, and now our eyes are on the game at the weekend."

  But Forest are coming down from a high of their own after earning back-to-back victories against Manchester United for the first time since 1992 with their 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

  After picking up just one triumph in four league games heading into Saturday’s game, Forest got themselves back on track and moved up to fifth in the Premier League table.

  Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo understood the magnitude of the victory and urged supporters to enjoy it, insisting their latest win is only the start of where he wants to take the club.

  "It means a lot for us as a club. Forest is a huge club that hasn’t had special moments like this for a long time. We should celebrate and be proud of this," Nuno said.

  "Me, I think about Villa. Let the fans celebrate, now we will start to prepare for the next one.

  "But I’m very proud of being part of this group of players and the squad. We are trying to do something together and build something nice."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood

  Wood is one of only four players to score 10+ Premier League goals this season, with only Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland (both 13) and Cole Palmer (11) scoring more than the New Zealander.

  He is also the first Forest player to score 10 Premier League goals in a campaign before Christmas, while he’s the first Forest player to do so in a league term since Lewis Grabban in the Championship back in 2021-22.

  Aston Villa – Jhon Duran

  Duran, who turns 21 the day before Villa’s trip to the City Ground, has scored 10 Premier League goals for the Villans, netting the winner in four of their seven wins this season.

  He’s one of three players to score 10 goals for Villa before turning 21, along with Gabriel Agbonlahor (13) and Luke Moore (11).

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  This will be Forest’s 5,000th match in the top four tiers of English football, the 12th side to reach that milestone in English Football League history.

  However, Saturday’s hosts have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Villa (D5 L5), though it was a 2-0 victory in this exact fixture last season.

  But they have turned the City Ground into a fortress. Forest have won three of their last four home games in the Premier League (L1), as many as their previous 17 beforehand (W3 D4 L10).

  Villa, meanwhile, are winless in their last five top-flight away games against Forest, though four of these have ended level. Their last such victory was in January 1995 under Brian Little (2-1).

  The Villans have lost each of their last three away league games, their longest such run since losing four in a row from May to August 2022. All three defeats in their current spell have been by 2+ goals – they last lost more in succession by such a margin on the road in the league in September 1968 as a second-tier side (five).

  Villa also won seven of their first 12 Premier League games under Emery against teams starting the day in the top five of the table (D1 L4) but have since lost five of their last seven (W1 D1), including all three this season, by an aggregate score of 7-0.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Nottingham Forest – 36.2%

  Draw – 26.2%

  Aston Villa – 37.6%

• Alisson 'the best goalkeeper in the world', says Slot

  Arne Slot paid tribute to the returning Alisson Becker, describing the Liverpool goalkeeper as the "best in the world" ahead of their clash with Fulham.

  The Brazil international returned from injury in midweek, playing the full 90 minutes of the Reds' 1-0 win over Girona in the Champions League.

  And Slot hopes he can build on the momentum of keeping a clean sheet, as Premier League leaders Liverpool prepare to return to domestic action after last weekend's Merseyside derby with Everton was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

  "We have an incredible goalkeeper. I said as a joke, maybe the players wanted to see how fit he was to give him so much work [against Girona]," the Reds boss said.

  "He showed [on Tuesday] he is probably one of the best, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the world.

  "Let's hope he can continue to keep bringing these performances and hope he can stay fit."

  Fulham are fresh from a credible 1-1 draw with Arsenal last weekend, with the Cottagers now having lost just one of their last seven league games.

  "I'm more pleased with the way our players fought [against Arsenal], the commitment, the organisation," head coach Marco Silva said.

  "It's always tough when we play against them, but they know it will be tough, too. We create a difficult scenario for them.

  "It was a tough week. In eight days, we played Tottenham, Brighton and Arsenal. [The players have] been great. The momentum is here for us, we have to be proud of the season so far."

  Silva also heaped praise on Antonee Robinson following his consistent performances at left-back.

  "He's been great for us. He's one of the best left-backs in this league," he added.

  "It's not just the way he is able to stop players, but the way he is able to help. He's a top player and a great professional. He's a proper athlete and is improving in some defensive positions where we want him to improve.

  "He's improving season by season, and week by week. We are really proud to have him with us."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

  Salah is level with Erling Haaland as the Premier League's joint-top scorer with 13 league goals. He is also second to Bukayo Saka in the assists table, having provided eight.

  The Egyptian has scored at least one goal in each of his last seven Premier League appearances. He has scored 99 home goals in 140 top-flight appearances, and another goal will mean he is the fourth-fastest player to reach 100.

  Fulham – Raul Jimenez

  Jimenez is level with Alex Iwobi as Fulham's top scorer in the league so far with five goals.

  The Mexican has scored 12 goals in his last 21 Premier League starts for Fulham. Of all players with 1,000+ minutes for the club, Jimenez has the best minutes-per-goal ratio (192 minutes per goal).

  MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

  Liverpool are four points clear at the top of the Premier League, having played a game less than second-placed Chelsea. They are unbeaten in 18 matches across all competitions (won 16, drawn two).

  Arne Slot's side have the second-best home record in the Premier League this season, having won six of their seven league games at Anfield (lost one).

  They have beaten Fulham in nine of their last 12 league meetings, including in each of their last four showdowns.

  Although Fulham drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal last time out, they have now won just one of their last four games in the Premier League.

  While they are unbeaten in three away from home (won one, drawn two), Silva's side have managed just two wins from seven league outings on the road this term.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Liverpool – 68.6%

  Draw – 17.5%

  Fulham – 13.9%