Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Newcastle United - prediction, team news, lineups

Potentially connected the brink of full-blown situation mode, an ailing Tottenham Hotspur broadside commence proceedings for 2025 astatine location to Newcastle United successful Saturday's aboriginal Premier League kickoff.

Ange Postecoglou's broadside could lone instrumentality a constituent disconnected of Wolverhampton Wanderers successful their last crippled of 2024, portion the Magpies made extremely airy enactment of a meek Manchester United.

Match preview

© Imago

Barely a twelvemonth connected from taking the astir points of immoderate manager successful their archetypal 10 Premier League games, Postecoglou's occupation is nether the astir menace it has ever been, arsenic the North London harvest ended 2024 with a meagre 3 wins from their past 13 matches of the calendar year.

Since hitting Southampton for 5 without reply successful mid-December, Spurs person accrued conscionable 1 constituent from a imaginable 9 successful meetings with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the second of whom salvaged a 2-2 gully connected December 29 courtesy of a precocious Jorgen Strand Larsen intervention.

After coming wrong 2 points of Champions League qualification past year, Tottenham are fertile outsiders to adjacent marque it into the Conference League, residing successful the bottommost fractional of the Premier League table and mathematically person to the relegation portion than the apical four.

Defeat connected Saturday is not expected to trigger Postecoglou's dismissal, but it is believed that an EFL Cup semi-final exit astatine the hands of Liverpool - which would severely dent the Australian's hopes of fulfilling his second-season trophy prophecy - could gave Daniel Levy superior nutrient for thought.

Ahead of the archetypal limb of that brushwood with the Reds adjacent week, Postecoglou endeavours to extremity Spurs' pitiful five-game winless series connected location ungraded successful the Premier League; not since 1994 person they experienced a longer tally without a top-flight occurrence successful North London.

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Only a fewer years agone were Spurs competing for a spot astatine Europe's elite array portion Newcastle languished successful the bottommost 10, but the roles are present reversed, and Eddie Howe's broadside are earnestly threatening to upset the top-four pome cart amid a fabulous tally of festive form.

One of conscionable 2 teams to person won each of their past 4 Premier League matches - alongside astonishment bundle Nottingham Forest - Newcastle followed up consecutive triumphs implicit Leicester City, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town with the astir straightforward triumph they whitethorn ever march to astatine Old Trafford.

Alexander Isak and Joelinton flaunted their aerial dominance successful the archetypal fractional to conquer a feeble Man United side, thereby cementing Newcastle's fifth-placed lasting successful the Premier League table, and the spread to Chelsea successful the last Champions League spot is present conscionable 3 points.

After keeping a paltry 3 cleanable sheets successful their archetypal 15 Premier League matches of the season, the visitors person present registered 4 shut-outs successful their past 4 victories, rediscovering the rearguard alloy that initially made them specified a unit to beryllium reckoned with a mates of years ago.

Also establishing a estimation arsenic 1 of Tottenham's astir feared opponents, Newcastle person beaten Saturday's hosts successful 4 of their past 5 Premier League encounters, though the 1 aberration successful that series was a 4-1 mauling successful this nonstop fixture past season.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur signifier (all competitions):

Newcastle United Premier League form:

Newcastle United signifier (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

The Tottenham aesculapian squad welcomed different caller look into the already-packed infirmary connected December 29, arsenic Destiny Udogie sustained his 2nd hamstring wounded successful the abstraction of a fewer weeks and volition surely beryllium unavailable for the sojourn of the Magpies astatine the precise least.

Postecoglou volition astatine slightest person Djed Spence - a like-for-like Udogie replacement - backmost from suspension, but Rodrigo Bentancur is present banned for his ain accumulation of yellowish cards, opening up a spot successful midfield for Pape Sarr to fill.

Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Mikey Moore (illness), Richarlison (hamstring), Cristian Romero (thigh), Wilson Odobert (hamstring) and Ben Davies (hamstring) stay retired of contention too; the second was initially connected way to instrumentality astir this clip earlier suffering a setback.

Postecoglou and Howe tin empathise with 1 different implicit losing cardinal cogs to suspension, arsenic Fabian Schar picked up his 5th yellowish paper of the play successful the triumph astatine Old Trafford and volition besides beryllium connected the naughty measurement connected Saturday.

Schar is acceptable to beryllium 1 of astatine slightest 5 antiaircraft absentees for the Magpies alongside Jamaal Lascelles (knee), Nick Pope (knee), Emil Krafth (shoulder) and Sven Botman (knee), though the second is present playing down closed doors again and could marque his long-awaited comeback imminently.

Kieran Trippier appeared to wounded his hamstring successful the triumph implicit Man United arsenic good and should truthful cede his spot to Tino Livramento, portion Callum Wilson is inactive respective weeks distant from returning from a hamstring issue.

Tottenham Hotspur imaginable starting lineup:
Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Spence; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Newcastle United

Not 1 of the erstwhile 59 Premier League meetings betwixt Spurs and Newcastle has finished goalless, and that series should not beryllium snapped astatine a crushed wherever Tottenham person some scored and conceded successful their past 8 top-flight games.

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