The Senegalese hitman who hit the ground running last January has been a disappointment this season - largely thanks to the toxic influence of compatriot Demba Ba, and being forced to play out of position, but he has looked a resurgent player in the past two games. He took his goal against Villa very well, and had a number of chances against Chelsea that last season would have been goals - as long as he continues to get into those positions he will start scoring his goals again, and confidence will rise. He faces arguably his toughest task so far since Demba Ba's departure in the shape of Belgian stopper Vertonghen, who is a class act on the ball and rarely gets pulled out of position, which is key to Cisse finding the space to benefit from the kind of passes he can expect from Moussa Sissoko. Vertonghen has been head and shoulders the best defender at Spurs this season, whether playing in the middle or at left-back, and his tackling skills will represent a considerable obstacle for Cisse, who may have to drop deeper to receive the ball than he would like. If Cisse and Sissoko can work together closely to over-run the Belgian, Newcastle will get a good result, but if not, they will struggle to score, it's that simple.