- Lee Ryder, from the Evening Chronicle, speaks to LCFC Radio
- He offered an analysis of Newcastle United ahead of Tuesday's Leicester City clash
- The Magpies host City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup (8pm kick-off)
- Ryder believes winning the Carabao Cup was beyond Newcastle's wishes in the summer
Under new owners, benefitting from an injection of financial backing, and surging up the Premier League standings, Newcastle are almost unrecognisable from the side who have languished in the top flight over previous seasons.
Eddie Howe's men are third in the table and, although they suffered a shock loss to Sheffield Wednesday in the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday, the Toon are determined to lift a first piece of major silverware in 68 years as soon as possible.
Newcastle supporters believe the Carabao Cup could be their chance to do just that. Three-time winners Leicester stand in their way of a place in the last-four of the competition – which the Magpies have never won – on Tuesday (8pm kick-off).
"If they won something, it would be beyond the wildest dreams of the new owners this season," said Lee Ryder, from the Evening Chronicle. "There’s an opportunity there now to get into a semi-final.
"I’m sure Leicester will have something to say about that as well. At the end of the day, Newcastle have put £200M into this squad, they’re possibly going to sign more players this month as well, so this is an opportunity for them to win something. If they do get through, they’ll be hoping the draw’s kind and there’s a passage to the final.
"There’s a long way to go yet. Brendan Rodgers is a top manager, he’ll be prepared for this game, and I’m sure it’ll probably be Newcastle’s hardest game in the competition so far.
"It's all or nothing for the season, in terms of winning something or not winning something. That trophy drought has gone on for some time. A lot of focus will go into this game. The Fulham game is one that Newcastle will consider after this one.
"They’re not talking about Fulham at the moment, but that’s a game they need to win as well to stop other teams from catching them in the Premier League. It’s a huge week, but without going into the clichés, it’s going to be one game at a time – and that starts with this one."
That surprising reverse at Hillsborough at the weekend prevented six-time winners Newcastle from another FA Cup triumph, but Ryder backed Howe's decision to make changes to his XI considering the fixture schedule over recent weeks.
"Going out of the FA Cup will have simply fuelled their ambition to do that even more, after a bad loss at the weekend," he added. "Eddie Howe made eight changes to the team, and I thought it took them quite a long time to gel in the game.
"By that time, Sheffield Wednesday had a foothold in the match. They stormed into a two-goal lead after the break, which took Newcastle by surprise. Newcastle then started to make changes, trying to get back into the game, and it was even a triple substitution at one time. The senior players came on and Kieran Trippier got thrown on as well to try and rescue the game.
"They did get back into it at 2-1 but they missed a series of chances. Before they knew it, the referee was blowing for full-time and that was it. Possibly, it was a selection thing, but considering the schedule after the World Cup, you can’t really blame Eddie Howe for that he did."
Ryder expects Leicester to pose Newcastle's toughest test so far in the Carabao Cup, with the North East side defeating Tranmere Rovers, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. City, on the other hand, have cup pedigree, lifting the FA Cup in 2021.
"Leicester certainly won’t underestimate Newcastle as they’ll know exactly what Newcastle can do now," he explained, referencing a 3-0 loss for the Foxes to the Magpies on Boxing Day.
"Newcastle will revert to a full-strength team in this game, there’s no doubt about that. Eddie Howe’s actually said that on the record. It’ll be a similar match up to Boxing Day from our end.
"It’s going to be tough, but I think Leicester will be trying to prove a point. These two teams have met in this competition at St. James’ Park before and it went Leicester’s way that night.
"There’s a lot to play for here and it really makes for an intriguing game."
All times GMT.