Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United
Date: 25/08/2019
K/O: 16:30
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Referee: Mike Dean
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
On what is set to be a scorching afternoon in north London, Newcastle United are welcomed to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium as one of four teams yet to register a point in the Premier League.
Last week Tottenham managed to grind out one of the most fortunate draws you are likely to see in a football match while at the Etihad. The 2-2 scoreline didn’t reflect the day’s events in the slightest. But Spurs’ hard-earned point was briefly taken away as Jesus hit the net with just minutes to go, before VAR handed it back after spotting contact of the ball with Laporte’s arm in the build-up. The incident sparked even more controversy over the video assistant referees as well as the new handball rules.
Whatever your stance is on the situation, Spurs counted themselves extremely lucky to take something out of the match and will be hoping for slightly smoother sailing when they face Newcastle on Sunday. Although they have caused Pochettino problems in the past, the Magpies have not bested Tottenham in any of the last two seasons’ matches.
Considering Newcastle’s torrid start to the season under Steve Bruce, Tottenham should be able to come away with the three points without too much trouble. Last week at Carrow Road especially, Newcastle were carved open far too often and will find it extremely difficult to deal with the potential return of Son Heung-min along with the rest of the Tottenham attacking line-up.
Having said that, Newcastle did produce a promising performance in their opening week fixture against Arsenal. The Magpies mounted some dangerous attacks on the Arsenal defence and didn’t look overly fragile at the back either. Spurs are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league, conceding three goals in two games, and Newcastle should look to pounce on any opportunities they have to break the Tottenham defence.
Steve Bruce will be anxious to settle his team down with at least a point in this match but, since the new boss has not had an easy few games to ease himself back into Premier League life, Bruce should focus on the performance of his players in their second away game rather than the result itself. Pochettino, on the other hand, will accept nothing other than a win in their hopes to keep up with the league leaders throughout the season.
Team News
Son Heung-min has played out his three-match ban picked up during the penultimate match of last season and is available again for selection. The same can’t be said for Juan Foyth, who also picked up a three-match ban in the same match, as the Argentine is nursing an ankle injury he suffered in a pre-season friendly.
Whatever saga that is behind Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to leave centre-back Jan Vertonghen out of the starting XI two weeks in a row is unknown to be ongoing. Spurs’ defence has not been perfect thus far, and the boss may feel this is the right time to get the Belgian back amongst the action.
Dele Alli and Ryan Sessegnon are continuing to recover from hamstring injuries and will miss out again on the weekend.
Newcastle have an extensive injury list on their hands, with Joelinton potentially being the latest addition to that list. The talented new signing picked up a hip issue against Norwich last weekend. The Magpies are awaiting further information on the extent of the injury, but losing the forward would be a big blow to Steve Bruce.
Other Newcastle players who seem to be close to a return to the squad include Jack Colback and new signing Allan Saint-Maximin, who have groin and hamstring injuries respectively.
Andy Carroll is not expected to be available to Bruce for another month at least, while Dwight Gale, Florian Lejeune, Christian Atsu and DeAndre Yedlin all continue to recover from their injuries.
Predicted Starting XIs
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Rose, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Walker-Peters; Ndombele, Winks; Son, Eriksen, Moura; Kane.
Newcastle United (3-5-2): Dubravka; Dummet, Lascelles, Schar; Ritchie, Ki, Shelvey, Hayden, Krafth; Almiron, Joelinton.
Score Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Newcastle United 0
Spurs will be eager to keep their first clean sheet of the season against a team who have scored once so far this season. Newcastle have looked dangerous at times against Norwich and Arsenal, but have lacked the clinical edge and thus Spurs should win comfortably.
