Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Saturday 9th February 2013 Kick-Off: 12.45pm
Team News
Tottenham's major issues ahead of the game comes in the shape of Emmanuel Adebayor, who they will test for match fitness before deciding on whether he immediately returns to the starting line-up after his African Cup of Nations duty with Togo. He's been away for a month, but Spurs are without English striker Jermain Defoe, who has an ankle problem, and face the prospect of playing Newcastle without a traditional out-and-out striker on the pitch. Both midfielder Sandro and defender Younes Kaboul are out, though Kaboul is set to return to training on Monday with a view to being fit in a fortnight. For Newcastle, Cheick Tiote returns from African duty, and could come straight back into the side at the expense of James Perch, though Alan Pardew will have to think hard about changing the line-up after two victories in a row - especially given Tiote's lack of form before he headed off to South Africa. Long term injuries keep out Ryan Taylor and Dan Gosling, both are back in training, leaving Haris Vuckic as the only long termer still wholly out, and Hatem Ben Arfa's expected return has been delayed by illness that kept him out of training this week. He should return in some capacity against Southampton, unless he makes a Valentine's Day bow against Metalist on Thursday.
Match Preview
All talk ahead of this game will have been on Newcastle's upturn in form, but Spurs are currently unbeaten in 11 games, and are likely to ignore the romance of Alan Pardew's French Revolution at home, even faced with the prospect of starting with no striker on the pitch. A year ago this week, Spurs turned Newcastle over 5-0 to celebrate former manager Harry Redknapp's victory in his tax evasion case, and go ten points clear in third place. Obviously, they didn't end up there, but AVB will be hoping the end of this season ends better than last year's final run of games. Newcastle actually did Spurs a favour last week by beating Chelsea, and they looked far from the side that have surrendered so many points this season against the Blues. They have almost a clean bill of health with utility man Ryan Taylor back in training and Dan Gosling joining him, and the winter's acquisitions have boosted options hugely. Alan Pardew will hope he can continue to count on good form from new man Moussa Sissoko, though today's game represented the biggest test of 2013 so far. Expect goals.
Likely Line-Ups
Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Parker, Dembélé, Bale; Dempsey; Adebayor.
Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, S Taylor, Coloccini, Santon; Perch, Cabaye; Gutierrez, Sissoko, Gouffran; Cissé.
Referee: Phil Dowd Click next to reveal
the five key battles that will decide this game...
Source:The Telegraph