Tottenham will look to seize control in the race for the top four when they visit Newcastle to herald the start of the weekend’s Premier League action on Saturday.
With a daunting run-in pitting them against Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, as well as the rearranged fixture against Manchester City, Tottenham know they can ill afford any slip-ups.
Last weekend, Ange Postecoglou’s men had too much for Nottingham Forest, romping to a 3-1 win, but it could have been a different story had Chris Wood shown more composure instead of crashing his effort against the post from close range when the score was 1-1.
Anyway, Tottenham will be looking to rectify their woes on the road. Having won four of their first six away games this term (D2), they have picked up just two victories from the subsequent nine (D4, L3).
Newcastle, on the other hand, have had to lower their ambitions this campaign. At the start of it, the Champions League was their main objective, but they are in a rat race to claim a Europa League berth.
Eddie Howe’s side, however, are in the midst of a three-game unbeaten streak, and they will be keen to build on that.
Encounters between Newcastle and Tottenham generally provide value for money, but how will this one unfold? I am on hand to unpick the main stats ahead of kick-off as well as share some tips to consider adding to your betting slips.
Tottenham to exorcise their demons
Cast your minds back 12 months ago, and Tottenham were like lambs to the slaughter at St James’ Park.
Finding themselves 5-0 down within 21 minutes, Tottenham were torn from limb to limb, and they capitulated to a 6-1 reverse.
Returning to the scene of one of their biggest humiliations in recent years may well be at the forefront of the minds of some of the Tottenham camp, however, they are a different beast now under Postecoglou.
This time, however, things feel a little different, and with a clear philosophy, Tottenham have made significant strides since that chastening day.
Although Newcastle kept their ninth clean sheet of the campaign with a 1-0 win over Fulham, with only Arsenal (14) managing more, when the Magpies concede, this tends to spell further problems. Indeed, they have conceded 1.7 goals per Premier League this term compared to 0.9 last season.
Tottenham have also managed to score at least once in each of their past 17 Premier League away games against Newcastle which augurs well.
Newcastle’s games have contained a competition-high of 117 (65 scored, 52 conceded), and I think Tottenham may profit from some chaotic defending.
To open things up, I’ve taken Tottenham at the slightly shorter price of 23/10 to win & BTTS which is available at William Hill.
Son Heung-Min to etch his place in the Premier League annals
While much was made over Harry Kane’s departure last summer, Son Heung-Min has recalibrated and led by example.
Indeed, the South Korean has registered 24 goal involvements in his past 25 Premier League appearances (15 goals and nine assists).
Just one more assist for the season will see him become the sixth player to claim double figures for goals and assists in three separate campaigns after Wayne Rooney (five seasons), Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard, Eric Cantona (all four), and Didier Drogba (three).
I have a hunch Son could make a meaty contribution, and join the exclusive club mentioned above.
To round things off, I’m leaning towards Son providing two or more assists, and that special carries tempting odds of 20/1 with Paddy Power.
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