Bruised by bad defeats in their last outings, split by just 3pts in the standings, and fighting hard for a place in the Champions League, Newcastle and Tottenham will lock horns on Sunday in what promises to be a thrilling duel that could make or break both teams’ season.
We give you our preview and prediction for this thrilling 6-pointer.
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Newcastle vs Tottenham: Match Preview for Sunday’s Big Game
Newcastle saw their 5-game PL winning streak come to a painful end last weekend with a damaging 0-3 defeat at Aston Villa. The Magpies were not themselves in that match and conceded 3 goals in a single game for the first time since mid-August when they drew 3-3 with Manchester City.
Tottenham also lost last weekend, conceding deep into stoppage time at home to relegation-threatened Bournemouth. Sanchez had a horror showing in defence as Spurs went down 3-2.
Looking forward, Newcastle will be glad to get back to St James’ Park where they have been very solid all season (W8 D5 L1). They will also feel confident after edging out Tottenham 2-1 away back in October, a result that ended a 5-game winless run (D2 L3) in this fixture for the Magpies.
All recent clashes between the teams have been edgy affairs with all of the last 4 H2Hs seeing at least 4 yellow cards shown.
Key battles that could decide the outcome of the game
We believe that the key battle in this match will be right in the middle of the park where Newcastle’s Willock and Tottenham’s Hojbjerg will clash. The two reliable midfielders are the heartbeat of their respective sides and whoever comes on top should give their side the edge.
Willoc’s last 2 goals were at home against big-six sides, so it will be interesting to see how the former Arsenal man fairs against Spurs this weekend.
This clash seems destined to see more goals scored in the second half compared to the first. Newcastle have scored 15 of their 23 PL home goals after the interval, while Tottenham have conceded 18 of their 25 away Premier League goals in the second forty-five.
The Form Guide: Newcastle vs Tottenham
Newcastle
Prior to their collapse last week Newcastle won five games in a row and Sunday’s hosts remain prime candidates for a top 4 finish. The Magpies have been very tough to score against at home all season, only conceding9 goals in 14 league games at St James’ Park.
Form guide: LWWWW
Tottenham
Tottenham have been all over the place lately. The situation in defence is particularly dire and this shows on the road. Spurs have failed to win any of their last six away games (D2 L4) and are also without a clean sheet in five of those fixtures.
All that said, the Lillywhites scored in all of their last 10 away games against Newcastle. The visitors actually scored two or more in all of their last four trips to the North East and were near-perfect in those 4 matches (W3 D1). Harry Kane seems to have Newcastle’s number too with Tottenham’s captain scoring four goals in his last four games against the Toon Army.
Form guide: LWDDL
All the Team News for Sunday’s clash between Newcastle and Tottenham
Newcastle
Newcastle have no fresh injury issues but Saint-Maximin, Krafth and Fraser remain unavailable. Changes can be expected after the last result, which could possibly see Wilson start ahead of Ishak in attack with Almiron also likely to be preferred to Gordon.
Tottenham
Tottenham saw centre-back Lenglet taken off injured last weekend and Sanchez was awful as his replacement. This might force the interim manager to shift to a 4-4-2 shape. If that’s the case, one of the goalscorers from the last game Danjuma could be in for his first Premier League start.
On top of Langlet, there are six other players out injured for Tottenham. Among them, are the box-to-box midfielder Bissouma and Bentancur, while Moura misses out through a suspension.
Our Prediction: Damaging Draw For Both Sides
- We predict a feisty 2-2 draw, with the majority of the goals coming in the second half and Harry Kane scoring his 24th PL league.
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