Sunday afternoon sees Newcastle United take on Tottenham Hotspur. With the match on paper looking very one-sided, The Magpies will look to pull off an upset as they hope to verge towards safety and another season in the Premier League.
Many see Newcastle as already relegated. The Magpies head into the fixture two points clear of Fulham but possess the knowledge that they will end the weekend in the bottom three if they fail to beat Tottenham and The Cottagers beat Aston Villa.
Previous meetings against Spurs aren't exactly in Newcastle’s favour. The home side has lost five of their last six Premier League home games against Tottenham, more than they had in their previous 26 against them.
Tottenham has won each of their last three Premier League away games against Newcastle on the flip side. Since suffering the 1-5 loss on the final day of the 2015-16 campaign. Tottenham have never won four consecutive away league games against the Magpies.
Something special will need to happen at the weekend for Newcastle to pull this one out of the bag. But in their previous encounter, something special did indeed salvage a point for Newcastle. The phantom handball against Eric Dier in the last minutes of regular time saw Callum Wilson equalise from the spot. Newcastle will not have Wilson this time, but perhaps someone else can step up?
Team News
Newcastle Team News:
The international break helped Newcastle out considerably. With key players allowed time to fit fitness. Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin look both set to feature against Tottenham. The unknown entity is Martin Dubvraka, as the keeper was kept out two international fixtures with a stomach bug. More time is needed for both Fabian Schár (knee) and Callum Wilson (hamstring). While Issac Hayden is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Totenham Hotspur Team News:
Tottenham will have both Heung-Min Son and Sergio Reguilon for the trip to Newcastle. Jose Mourinho also confirmed that Son will play on Sunday in his press conference. Erik Lamela is available for selection after serving a one-match ban following his sending off at the North-London Derby.
However, defenders Ben Davies and Matt Doherty remain out. Davies withdrew from the Wales squad ahead of their international fixtures. Doherty came off at half-time when Luxembourg defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in their World Cup Qualifying fixture.
Ones to watch
From a Newcastle angle, ones to watch are difficult as many will look at the performance against Brighton and Hove Albion before the international break and think the entire team needs to be watched as they all need to improve. Whereas this statement is true, it is also false Ryan Fraser.
The Scot has not impressed heavily in a Newcastle shirt so far this season with him lacking confidence, But over the international period, Fraser scored twice in three games and looked to be back to his best.
Time will only tell if he can transfer that into club form as well, but with the counter-attacking high press style Newcastle are likely to employ on Sunday, Fraser will be vital to that.
Tottenham is in a resurgence after a rocky patch of form with some key injuries and up and down form; one player has been consistent for Spurs all season Tanguy Ndombele.
Before this season began, many Spurs fans would have been worried about the 54 million pound man flopping, but Ndombele has proven his worth in this iteration of Jose Mourinho's Tottenham. One thing for the Frenchman to improve is his consistency. There still lingers some of last seasons player in there, as was witnessed in the Derby game against Arsenal.
Expected Lineups
Newcastle United: Darlow; Manquillio, Lascelles, Clark, Dummet; Hendrick, Shelvey, Willock; Fraser, Joelinton, Almiron.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Aurier, Sánchez, Alderweireld, Regulion; Højbjerg, Ndombele; Son, Lo Celso, Bale; Kane.
Where to watch
As part of a triple Super Sunday on Sky Sports Premier League, Newcastle vs Tottenham has the middle billing of Sunday 2.05 pm. With Aston Villa vs Fulham following straight after it will be a big day for the Premier League's relegation picture.