Evans On Newcastle Formations & Defensive Partner Söyüncü

- Jonny Evans says Leicester City’s challenge will be to break down Newcastle United’s sturdy back line on Sunday (4:30pm BST kick-off)
- Brendan Rodgers’ men host the Magpies at King Power Stadium in the Premier League
- Evans has praised Çağlar Söyüncü for his performances this term
- Live coverage of the fixture will begin at 1:30pm BST on LCFC Radio

Leicester City were edged 1-0 by Newcastle on Filbert Way earlier this year, as Ayoze Pérez, who later joined the Foxes, headed in the winner in the first half.

Attempting to learn from that loss, and their Carabao Cup tie with the Magpies at St. James’ Park earlier this season, the Northern Ireland international says it will be up to City to break down their opponent’s defence.

“Our experience of Newcastle last year was that they sat in and defended deep, and we found it difficult to break them down,” Evans said ahead of the game.

“That was a challenge that when the manager came to the Club, he wanted to help us in that aspect – of setting our team up and being able to work teams that are going to sit in against us, which is becoming quite a common theme.

“Newcastle did that very well against us last year, so I think they’ll come with the same game plan. They play 5-4-1, or 5-3-2 sometimes at the moment, so they’ll have a lot of players in defence trying to stop the spaces for us.

“I think it’ll be a different type of challenge, but I think it’s one that we’re looking forward to, and one that the manager wants us to be better at. It’s something that we’ve got to produce.”

This term, Evans has formed an excellent partnership at the heart of defence with Turkey international centre-back Çağlar Söyüncü.

The 31-year-old has praised the Foxes No.4 for the way he has adapted to the rigours of Premier League football this term.

Evans added: “He’s a young lad and he’s come in last season. We both signed in the same window and he’s had to be patient for playing time.

“We could all see the frustration because he’s a good player and he just needed to get those minutes and play. I’ve been in that position myself at times throughout my career.

“I could see the potential in him, and I knew that once he got a couple of games and built up his confidence and got playing, there would be no problem for him. He’s come in and I think he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations of how he’d perform.”