Tottenham snatched a draw away at Champions Manchester City in a dramatic encounter last weekend, but things should be a little easier for Mauricio Pochettino’s men against Newcastle on Sunday.
They welcome Steve Bruce’s side to North London in what appears to be a home banker, though if the form book is anything to go by, the fixture might be a little tighter than anticipated.
Spurs scored with their only two shots on-target last weekend and managed just three attempts in total during the entire, largely one-sided, encounter though still managed to grab a valuable point with a 2-2 draw which would have been a defeat but for the intervention of VAR.
Christian Eriksen made his return to the starting XI last weekend, and Lucas Moura’s impact from the bench could see the Brazilian recalled to the team on Sunday while Tottenham will be boosted by the return of Son Heung-min from suspension; and if that wasn’t enough, new signing Giovani Lo Celsowill will also hope to be involved for this one.
Dele Alli is back in training, but Tanguy Ndombele is out after suffering a thigh strain in training though with plenty of names eager to make an impression great things are expected of last season’s Champions League finalists and it’s difficult to see past a home win in this one which can be backed at 1.28.*
Since a 5-1 defeat at St James’ Park on the final day of the 2015/16 season, Spurs have won four consecutive league matches against Newcastle so it’s no surprise they are hot favourites here.
However, when it comes to value the smart money might be in the goalscoring market with the home side boasting one of the most exciting front-lines in the Premier League, so backing Tottenham & over 3.5 goals might be a better option at 3.90.*
SPURS V NEWCASTLE: HARRY KANE TO SCORE FIRST GOAL AT 3.00*
As for Newcastle, they have struggled so far in the Premier League with a defeat to Norwich last weekend their second loss of the campaign having gone down to Arsenal on the opening weekend, though It might have been different had debutant Emil Krafth and Joelinton not wasted two fantastic first half chances before the Canaries opened the scoring.
The only joy for the Toon against Norwich came from a Jonjo Shelvey strike but another poor performance has only increased the pressure on Bruce who admitted, “We were nowhere near good enough and it was a disappointing afternoon with and without the ball.”
There are some positives for the Magpies, however, with Allan Saint-Maximin expected to return from injury while Joelinton should also be able to shake off a knock he sustained last weekend and although Spurs have claimed top honours in each of their last four head-to-head fixtures, Newcastle can boast a pretty impressive record against Spurs though haven’t beaten the Lillywhites away since 2015.
They have won 21 Premier League matches against Spurs and only versus Aston Villa have they enjoyed more victories in the league with 22 so, although recent form might not suggest they have a chance at least they have history on their side.
However, United have come away empty-handed in all 12 trips to the so called “Big Six” sides since returning to the top-flight with half of those losses seeing the Magpies failing to find the net.
They have also won just three of their last 21 Premier League games in London, although they won on their most recent visit to the capital, beating Fulham 4-0 in May, so at 12.00* to win this encounter if they are to cause an upset, it’s difficult seeing them do so by more than one goal.
SPURS V NEWCASTLE: NEWCASTLE TO WIN 1-0 AT 30.00*
*Odds subject to change
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