Newcastle United will travel to North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur this weekend. The Magpies are one of four teams who are yet to open their account for the season, and the way things are, their wait for a point might stretch further given the quality of opposition they are coming up against.
Spurs have won the last four Premier League encounters between these two sides. Realistically, Steve Bruce might be facing down the barrel after this weekend. Last game’s shambolic defeat to Norwich City showcased what the Toon might be expecting this season as they could very much be in a relegation battle. Tottenham meanwhile are coming on the back of a draw against Manchester City where they looked like the second-best side. However, Pochettino will be confident about getting full points from this game.
Team News: Allan Saint-Maximin could feature in the matchday squad for the first time this season. Andy Carroll and Florian Lejeune are back in training, but they might still be some time away from regaining match fitness. Dwight Gayle’s return date is still uncertain so he could be out for more than a month.
DeAndre Yedlin and Christian Atsu are also reeling with injuries. Amid all the crisis, Joelinton is expected to be available after he struggled with a hip injury in the last game.
Newcastle United Predicted Lineup Vs Tottenham
Formation (3-5-2)
Defence
Martin Duravka is expected to start in goal. Jamaal Lascelles will play in the centre of the back three. Fabian Schar should be on his right. Paul Dummett will be on the left side of the backline.
Midfield
Matt Ritchie will start on the left, and he will be in a wing-back role. Summer signing Emil Krafth should be in a similar position down the right as he will fall back deep when out of possession and look to move up quickly when Newcastle get on the ball.
Jonjo Shelvey should start in central areas. He is likely to be partnered by Isaac Hayden in the middle. The other midfield spot could be either of Ki Sung-yueng and Sean Longstaff. We think that Longstaff could be given his first start of the season in this game. The midfield three will have to do a lot of defensive work against this Spurs side.
Attack
Miguel Amiron will start up front, and he will be in a secondary striker role. Joelinton is expected to be available, and he will have a significant role to play. The striker would be expected to hold up play and get his other teammates into the game.