Tottenham host Newcastle on matchday 20 of the Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur host Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on matchday 20 of the Premier League on Saturday, January 4th, at 12:30 UK time. The Lilywhites are in action for the first time in 2025 and will look to start the year on a good note following three successive winless results to close out 2024.
A series of unsatisfactory results have mounted the pressure on Ange Postecoglou in recent weeks and have left Tottenham stranded in 11th place in the Premier League standings. Their opponents, Newcastle United, come into the match in fifth place amid hopes of making the Champions League next season by securing a top four berth.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur seemingly cannot find the back of their injury problems. Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Mikey Moore, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert remain out and have been joined on the treatment table by Destiny Udogie, who is likely to miss the next two months of action. Rodrigo Bentancur is also suspended owing to an accumulation of yellow cards.
The Uruguayan international’s absence could open the door for James Maddison to feature. The former Leicester City midfielder has scored eight times in the Premier League already this season. Meanwhile, it could even be a testing time for Son Heung-min, whose form has come under tremendous scrutiny lately, more so after he missed a penalty versus Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.
PREDICTED TOTTENHAM XI (4-3-3): Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Newcastle United
Newcastle United come into the fixture without Fabian Schar, who is suspended. Callum Wilson, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman are expected to miss out due to injuries. Nick Pope remains a doubt but is unlikely to be risked given that Martin Dubravka has played reasonably well in the former Burnley goalkeeper’s absence.
Eddie Howe’s men come into the match having won each of their last five games in all competitions having struck 16 goals and conceded only one. Newcastle’s most recent win came against Manchester United by a 2-0 margin. Alexander Isak is their most prolific scorer in the Premier League with 12 goals to his name and will prove a handful for Spurs on Saturday.
PREDICTED NEWCASTLE XI (4-3-3): Dubravka; Trippier, Livramento, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Match-deciding duel
Radu Dragusin vs Alexander Isak
Tottenham Hotspur will come up against arguably the best and most in-form striker in the Premier League at the moment in Alexander Isak. The Swedish international is not only a terrific goal-scorer but has the ability to influence the match through his creative attributes and will have to be dealt with in a sound manner by Radu Dragusin.
The Romanian central defender has a good physical presence and is a fairly decent decision maker, so Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou will hope that he is on top of his game. An interesting duel awaits between two quality players though from Spurs’ point of view, they will consider half the job done if Isak can be kept dormant for much of the game.
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Tottenham now in position to hijack Chelsea deal for Serie A ace
Prediction
Tottenham 0-3 Newcastle United
Newcastle United will very possibly compound Tottenham Hotspur’s misery with a convincing win in north London. Eddie Howe’s men can supposedly do no wrong, whereas Spurs have barely done their basics right in the last few matches on either end of the pitch. Alexander Isak’s form, in particular, will be too hot to handle for an overworked Tottenham side, who could drop by some more places by the end of matchday 20 subject to other results in the division.