Date: 12th February Venue: St. James' Park Kick-Off: 7.45pm Spurs head North to take on an out-of-sorts Newcastle looking to keep up their top-four challenge after last weekend's victory against Everton.
Team News
With seven players in the treatment room Fabricio Coloccini, Mathieu Debuchy, Cheick Tiote, Gabriel Obertan, Gael Bigirimana, Yoan Gouffran and Papiss Cisse and Loic Remy serving the remaining game of his ban, Newcastle's squad is looking increasingly threadbare. For Spurs, the picture is slightly rosier despite missing Erik Lamela, Vlad Chiriches and Sandro, Andros Townsend could make his first start for the club in eight weeks after recovering from his hamstring injury.
Key Stats
Spurs haven't won at St. James' Park in seven games Premier League, a record that stretches back to 2004 when Timothee Atouba scored to give the North Londoners a 1-0 victory however, they did win 1-2 on the Magpies' patch in a 2008 League Cup third-round tie. Newcastle's 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane represents the first time in nine games the away side has won in this fixture. Yet the record could be set to change tonight Newcastle have lost their last three games and have gone seven games without a clean sheet, and have failed to score in six of those matches. In contrast, Spurs have only lost one of their last nine games with a haul of 19 points out of a possible 27, putting them second in the form table behind Chelsea. They come to St. James' Park with Emmanuel Adebayor on good form the Togolese has notched six in his last 10 games, and looks set to defend his side's record of only two away losses from 12 this season.
Likely Line-Ups
Newcastle Krul, Yanga-Mbiwa, Dummett, Santon, Williamson, Taylor, Ben Arfa, Anita, De Jong, Sissoko, Sa Ameobi Spurs Lloris, Walker, Rose, Dembele, Vertonghen, Bentaleb, Paulinho, Adebayor, Defoe, Townsend
Match Preview
Newcastle just cannot catch a break at the moment, and continue to run into form sides at the worst possible time shorn of Yohan Cabaye and with a large list of walking wounded, the Magpies were painfully embarrassed by rivals Sunderland and savaged by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham look unlikely to offer any sort of reprieve flying high after beating top-four rivals Everton last weekend, Tim Sherwood's men will be looking to continue the momentum and stay in touch with fourth-placed Liverpool. They do so with a striker bang in form ushered in from the cold by Sherwood, Emmanuel Adebayor had a point to prove and went about doing so emphatically, with a ratio better than a goal every other game. Tonight he'll be faced with a Newcastle backline lacking captain and defensive rock Fabricio Coloccini, as the long-haired Argentine continues his recovery after suffering a knee injury during his side's defeat at West Brom on New Year's Day. Up front, the problems continue to mount on Tyneside, with Newcastle possessing the smallest pool of goalscorers of any side in the division and fielding a striker who hasn't scored in 29 appearances in Shola Ameobi. Expect the visitors to be far too strong for their beleaguered opponents as they continue to make life worse for Alan Pardew and his men. Prediction: 0-2
Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League.
You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.
