Newcastle United managed by Eddie Howe will be hosting Tottenham Hotspur at the St James’ Park in third match week of the 2024/25 Premier League season on
Sunday.
Home side is positioned seventh with four points after the first two matches against Southampton and Bournemouth while the away side have four points too but occupies the fifth place with enhanced goal-difference.
After a comparatively subdued 2023-24 season where Newcastle United ended up seventh, failed to make European football rounds, and saw their big ticket signing Sandro Tonali get banned for majority of the season, one would think that Howe might have expected a more sorted out 2024-25 season.
Nonetheless, in the first match in the English top division against newly promoted Southampton on August 17, Fabian Schar was dismissed through a red card after only half an hour of the match and thus the Toon was left with no option than to allow the Saints to dominate in both the physical and the tactical aspects of the game.
Joelinton, the midfield of Newcastle, scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute by which he fall through a wrong pass from Alex McCarthy of Southampton when the ball was played to Alexander Isak in the Saints penalty area.
Newcastle were dragged into the controversy of match-fixing in the recent match against Bournemouth on August 25, 2018, when the Cherries ‘ Dango Ouattara brought what could have been the winning goal of the match in the 92nd minute hitting the ball with his arm.
Joelinton somehow found the spotlight again but this time escaping a red card when he clotheslined Neto in second-half stoppage time, though Howe acknowledged, the Brazilian should have been lucky to escape with a yellow.
Toon tied 1-1 on August 28 in the 2nd round of EFL cup match against Nottingham Forest but progress to the 3rd round on penalties 4-3, the will play against
AFC Wimbledon on September 17.
In a match where Tottenham was the overwhelming favorite with 70% ball possesion and 15 attempts at goal, they started their season with a draw 1-1 against Leicester City on August 19.
The current team of Ange Postecoglou also had their fair share of the moments of creatively attacking football, as evidenced by the goal scored by Pedro Porro in the 29th minute, however, the team also is not immune to youth foolishness during the counter-attacks.
Spurs’ second league match of the new season against Everton on August 24th was much easier with a Yves Bissouma goal and one each from Cristian Romero and Son
Heung-Min sealing the 4-0 triumph.
Tottenham were helped by a strange blunder by Jordan Pickford in the 25th minute when he failed to control James
Tarkowski’s pass when the ball was placed right in front of him, and the break led to Son making it 2-0 for Tottenham.
In more details, Postecoglou’s side averages the second most shots on target per match, has the second most big chances created, and has recorded the most touches in the opposition’s box of any side in the Premier League.
The visitors enter the clash with three consecutive league games’ results without a loss and having scored eight goals in those games. Newcastle and Tottenham have created a total of 40 goals in the last nine league encounters, even though Tottenham was defeated twice in the last season’s league matches at St James’ Park with 4-0 and 1-6.
Newcastle is without a number of players, notably center backs Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman because of cruciate ligament injuries, while center back Fabian Schar is still banned.
As starting center backs against
Bournemouth, Emil Krafth and Dan Burn may start from the beginning on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka is doubtful, and Callum Wilson, Lewis Miley, and Joe Willock are all anticipated to miss out.
In Newcastle’s match against Nottingham
Forest, Tonali made a comeback to the field.
He may be in the running for a starting position this weekend.
Richarlison had an injury during training, so he will be out for a few weeks for Tottenham, while Dominic Solanke is still not eligible for selection.
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