Tottenham v Newcastle preview: Can the Magpies reach the top four?
Tottenham’s 2-0 midweek loss at Old Trafford cast the first shreds of doubt around their chances of securing back-to-back top-four Premier League finishes. Yet even after that defeat, Spurs still have a four-point cushion over their fifth-placed conquerors Manchester United, and with Antonio Conte’s men now targeting an 11th straight competitive home win, they can clearly dominate in front of their own fans.
With just two of Spurs’ preceding ten victories here seeing them score only once, and the usual suspects Harry Kane (29) and Son Heung-Min (30) often doing their bit, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is fast becoming a place opposition sides fear going.
At least one part of that feared duo has netted in five of the last six games during Spurs’ rich streak as hosts – while the first goal/assist combo involving the duo here would be their 50th in the Premier League.
Newcastle United won’t have quickly forgotten the 5-1 drubbing they suffered here back in April, but they are a different entity now, finally showing the first signs of delivering on the excitement surrounding them.
A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday night made it six games unbeaten for the Magpies (W3, D3), consolidating their place in the top six in their push to appear in European competition for the first time since 2012/13.
The odds for this game suggest any further progress up the table could be delayed though, and much of that is down to Newcastle’s sole PL away win this season coming against newly-promoted Fulham (D3, L1).
Still, recent history suggests that Newcastle could cause the hosts some trouble here as aside from last season’s heavy loss, they more than held their own over the seven league games prior on Tottenham’s own patch (W4, D1, L2).
Players to watch
Away from the Kane and Son partnership, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (27) has scored twice here since the start of September, with three of his last four goalscoring home games ending in a 2-1 victory for Spurs.
Meanwhile, after netting the winner in midweek, fellow midfielder Miguel Almirón (28) has now scored in Newcastle’s last three victories.
Hot streak
Each of the last four October-held head-to-head's have seen both teams score.
