Newcastle vs Tottenham: Preview, Timing, Telecast Details, Predicted Lineups & More
Match preview of English Premier League gameweek-1 clash between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Competition – English Premier League
Date – 11th August, 2018, Saturday
Time – 12:30 pm(UK), 11.30 am GMT, 5:00 pm(IST)
Venue – St James’ Park, Newcastle
TV Info – Sky Sports(UK), NBCSN(US), Star Sports 1(India)
Live Stream – Sky Go, NBC Sports Live, Hotstar
Officials
Referee – Martin Atkinson
Assistants – Lee Betts and Stephen Child
Fourth Official – Paul Tierney
Preview
Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are set to start their respective Premier League campaigns for this year with a mouth-watering clash at the St James’ Park.
Spurs would like to start their new campaign with an away win at St James’ Park in a bid to improve their previous year’s performance. This transfer window didn’t go down well with the Spurs’ fans as no major signing was done by their club whereas other top 6 contenders have improved their respective squads significantly. The good news is that they have successfully extended the contracts of some of their top performers which according to their manager Mauricio Pochettino is nothing less than some new signings.
Newcastle, on the other hand, successfully secured their status for this season’s Premier League under Rafael Benitez thanks to a 10th place finish last season. Unlike Spurs, the Magpies have been very active in this transfer window much to the joy of the Spaniard Benitez who wanted a couple of new faces to solidify their claim for a spot in the Premier League for the 2019-2020 season. A winning start against a top 6 side will no doubt give the Magpies a much needed boost in their quest to secure their PL status for next season.
League position(last season)
Tottenham – 3rd
Newcastle – 10th
Team news
Newcastle United
Rafa Benitez will certainly be a happy man owing to the fact that apart from Lejeune, rest of his players are available for selection alongwith the new comers – Rondon, Schar and Muto. Martin Dubravka is also expected to start after recovering from a knock. Mohamed Diame is doubtful, but Benitez expects him to feature in this fixture.
Tottenham Hotspur
Pochettino might be forced to field a weakened side due to the fact that 9 of his players were involved in later stages of the World Cup and they have just started their training. The injuries to the likes of Wanyama, Lamela and Winks have added to the Argentine’s woes.
Probabale line-up
Newcastle United (4-4-1-1)
Dubravka – Dummett – Clark – Lascelles – Yedlin – Ki – Shelvey – Kenedy – Ritchie – Perez – Rondon
Coach – Rafael Benitez
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3)
Vorm – Davies – Vertonghen – Sanchez – Aurier – Dier – Sissoko – Eriksen – Lucas – Son – Llorente
Coach – Mauricio Pochettino
Injuries and Suspensions
Newcastle United
Florian Lejeune[Injured], Mohamed Diame[Doubtful]
Tottenham Hotspur
Victor Wanyama[Injured], Juan Foyth[Injured], Harry Winks[Injured], Erik Lamela[Injured]
Head to head
Newcastle and Tottenham have faced each other 46 times till now in the Premier League. Tottenham claimed 21 wins against Newcastle’s 19 with rest of the 6 matches ended in a stalemate. Last season Spurs won both the fixtures against the Magpies.
Prediction
Although Newcastle have added some new faces, Tottenham still hold an advantage over them. But, considering Spurs missing a couple of players and St James’ Park being the venue, I’ll go with a 1-1 scoreline.