Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United
Date: 02/02/2019
K/O: 12:30
Venue: Wembley Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Referee: Andre Marriner
Third-placed Tottenham host Newcastle United in the weekend’s opening match, as the Lilywhites attempt to leap into second above Manchester City, who were defeated by Newcastle on Tuesday.
Tottenham have won their last two league games, coming from behind to win on both occasions against Fulham and Watford. A disastrous weekend last week sent them hurtling out of both domestic cups, but as far as the league table is concerned, Spurs have done pretty well with a severely depleted squad and now have a confident Son Heung-min back from international duty; perhaps allowing Llorente a well-earned rest.
With Manchester City within their sites and hosting an in-form Arsenal this weekend, Spurs will be determined to grab the three points and climb into second place and just four points behind the leaders Liverpool, who face West Ham on Monday.
Given that Newcastle inflicted a shock defeat upon City on Tuesday, there’s no reason why they won’t give Spurs a hard time at Wembley, especially given that the home side are a little on the fragile side at present. There are signs that their makeshift attack is starting to gel though and, with Son and Eriksen in the side, Tottenham are still a tough challenge to face.
Rafael Benitez’ side were not put off when City scored within 25 seconds the other day and, perhaps even more impressively, managed to stop them from scoring for the rest of the game. What’s more they now have some extra firepower in their squad in the form of Miguel Almiron, a record signing from Atlanta United, which could be a key bit of business for the club.
A back-to-back win for Newcastle could potentially see them move eight points clear of the relegation zone, which would be a huge boost to the team and manager alike. There’s no doubt that Benitez has done a tremendous job after enduring a slump in form earlier in the season, and with some extra buffers in the squad, Newcastle might fancy their chances against Tottenham.
Team News
Thankfully for Tottenham, there are no extra injuries to report; Kane and Alli will remain unavailable until early March, while Ben Davies may also be absent on Saturday.
In a piece of deadline day business, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, who provided the assist for Winks’ late goal against Fulham, has been loaned out to Monaco for the rest of the season.
Karl Darlow, Mohamed Diame, Paul Dummett and Jonjo Shelvey are all candidates to make a return from injury this weekend, having picked up respective injuries earlier in the month.
Joselu is unlikely to feature due to an ankle injury, while Ki will be out until mid-February. Muto will also be absent due to the Asian Cup final with Japan.
Predicted Starting XIs
Tottenham Hotspur (5-2-2-1): Lloris; Rose, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Trippier; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Son; Llorente.
Newcastle United: (5-2-2-1): Dubravka; Ritchie, Lejeune, Lascelles, Schar, Yedlin; Longstaff, Hayden; Atsu, Almiron; Rondon.
Score Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Newcastle United 1
Although Newcastle will be buoyed by their recent triumph against second-placed City, Spurs should have the talent at their disposal to grab a third league win in a row – it’s their ability to click early on that could decide the fate of this contest.
