Rafael Benitez has called on struggling Newcastle United to show the same spirit that helped his old Liverpool team stage one of the all-time great escape acts to win the Champions League.

Benitez will be back on familiar territory on Saturday when the Newcastle manager takes his team to Anfield, where he spent six successful seasons before leaving in 2010.

The undoubted highlight of Benitez's Liverpool reign was the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul when the Reds recovered from a 3-0 half-time deficit to beat AC Milan on penalties.

And Benitez believes Newcastle will have to emulate Liverpool's never-say-die spirit over the last four games of the season to avoid being relegated for the first time since 2009.

"I use the example of Vladimir Smicer. At Liverpool, he was not playing too many games and I said to the players who weren't playing too many games, 'You have to be ready and fit, you never know when you will be important'," said Benitez, whose side are two points adrift of safety and haven't won a league game at Liverpool since 1994.

"And he was. He came in and he was massive for us in the Champions League final.

"So the players have to know how important they are because in the end, they can make the difference. They have to be ready."

Harry Kane has warned leaders Leicester City that title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur are happy to play catch-up as the race for the Premier League crown enters the final furlong.

For the second weekend in a row, second-placed Tottenham, who host West Bromwich Albion on Monday, kick off 24 hours after Leicester, with Claudio Ranieri's side at home to Swansea City on Sunday.

But Kane insists the perceived burden of having to follow Leicester is actually a bonus because it gets his team's juices flowing.

That Kane and company have no problem dealing with the pressure of trying to overhaul Leicester was clear to see last Monday when they won 4-0 at Stoke City to take advantage of the leaders' draw with West Ham United the previous day.

Mauricio Pochettino's team are now five points behind Leicester with four matches remaining and England forward Kane is hoping this weekend's crucial fixtures follow a similar pattern.

"Watching all the football over the weekend and having to wait until Monday night to play, gets you ready, gets you firing," Kane said.

"With more performances like against Stoke, I'm sure we'll push them all the way."

Leicester will be without the suspended Jamie Vardy on Sunday after his dismissal for diving against West Ham and his replacement is likely to be Leonardo Ulloa, who came off the bench to score the last-gasp penalty that rescued a draw last weekend.

Ulloa believes the way Leicester avoided defeat despite the stress of Vardy's dismissal and the shock of conceding two late goals showed their desire to finish off the most unlikely of title bids.

Just 12 months ago, Leicester were engaged in a battle for relegation and they started this season as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title.

"We showed great character. I love to play with this team because we all fight together until the last minute," Ulloa said.

"I didn't think about the pressure of the situation. After I scored I felt how important the goal was. The feeling was so good."

Manchester City warm up for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid by hosting Stoke in a less glamourous but still significant encounter.

Tuesday's clash with Real has the star power, but Manuel Pellegrini's fourth-placed side also need to ensure they qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish.

In a fixture with significant implications at both ends of the table, Arsenal travel to Sunderland on Sunday.

The third-placed Gunners bolstered their bid for a top-four place with an Alexis Sanchez-inspired win over West Bromwich Albion on Thursday, but they have little margin for error against a Sunderland side battling to avoid relegation.

Sunderland are one point from safety and with fourth-bottom Norwich City not playing this weekend, they would climb out of the bottom three with a draw or win against the Gunners.

Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated)