Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Tottenham Hotspur will kickstart the 2025 calendar year with a tough clash against a resurgent Newcastle United side on Saturday, January 4th, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Tottenham’s recent form under Ange Postecoglou has been a sharp contrast to their dominant early-season performances.

The North London club’s unpredictable form has been a hallmark of their season. After a notable victory over Manchester City, Ange Postecoglou’s side has struggled to sustain momentum, managing just one win in their last seven matches—a run that includes four losses and two draws.

This inconsistency has left Spurs in 11th place after 19 games, with their home form particularly concerning. They have failed to win in their last five home matches, suffering three defeats and drawing twice.

Once lauded for their explosive start under Postecoglou, Spurs now find themselves mired in the Premier League’s bottom half. Despite their attacking prowess—ranking as the second-best offence with 41 goals, just behind Liverpool—they have secured only three wins in their last 13 games across all competitions.

In their latest outing against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Spurs seemed set for victory after goals from Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson gave them a 2-1 lead to cancel out Hwang Hee-Chan’s opener. However, Wolves, despite losing Matheus Cunha to injury at half-time, found a late equalizer through Jorgen Strand Larsen.

The result extended Spurs’ winless home streak to five matches, with boos echoing at full-time after Heung-Min Son previously missed a penalty at 1-1.

Conversely, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side has also faced scrutiny, managing only two wins in an 11-game span that included five defeats.

The Magpies seem to have regained momentum, securing four consecutive Premier League victories against Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Aston Villa, and Manchester United with an impressive 13-0 aggregate score. This winning streak has elevated Howe’s team to fifth in the table, just three points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place.

A commanding 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford further highlighted Newcastle’s dominance, with all ten outfield players either attempting a shot or creating a chance by the 36th minute. In stark contrast, United managed just one shot on target throughout the match.

Newcastle’s recent success marks their first four-game winning streak since March-April 2023 and the first time they’ve achieved it without conceding since April 2012.

Key to this run is Alexander Isak, who has scored in each of his last five league appearances. Should he find the net against Spurs, he would match Joe Willock’s 2021 record of scoring in six consecutive Premier League games. Isak’s 25 league goals in 2024 further cement his impact, leaving him just two goals shy of Alan Shearer’s club record of 27 in a calendar year set in 2002.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Newcastle match details 

• Date: Saturday, 4th January, 2024
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• Kick-off time: 12:30 PM GMT
• Referee: Andy Madley
• Assistant referees: Nick Hopton and Craig Taylor.
• Fourth official: Lewis Smith
• VAR: Chris Kavanagh
•  Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
• Tickets: Fans can buy Spurs tickets from the club or via trusted online resellers.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Tottenham have emerged victorious in two of their past three Premier League home matches against Newcastle (L1), equalling their tally from the previous seven encounters (D1 L4).

• Newcastle have claimed wins in four of their last five Premier League meetings with Tottenham (L1), matching the number of victories they managed in the 15 prior clashes (D2 L9).

• After managing a Premier League double over Spurs in just one of 12 campaigns between 2008-09 and 2021-22 (2015-16), Newcastle could now achieve it in two of the last three seasons (also 2022-23).

• Tottenham vs. Newcastle is the Premier League’s most-played fixture without a 0-0 result (59 meetings), with 189 goals scored—making it the third-highest-scoring matchup in league history.

• Tottenham have lost their opening league game in two of the past five calendar years (W2 D1), equalling their losses in the previous 16 years combined (W11 D3).

• Newcastle started the year with a league victory just once in the last 12 calendar years (D3 L8), a 1-0 win over Stoke on New Year’s Day 2018.

• Spurs are winless in their last five Premier League home games, their longest such run since a stretch of eight between March and October 2008 under Juande Ramos. The last time they endured a longer streak in a single season was between October 1993 and April 1994 (14).

• Alexander Isak netted 25 Premier League goals for Newcastle in 2024, with only Alan Shearer surpassing him in a single year for the club (27 in 2002). Isak’s total of 43 Premier League goals for Newcastle is exceeded only by Shearer (148), Callum Wilson (47), and Peter Beardsley (46).

• Brennan Johnson leads Tottenham’s scoring charts across all competitions this season with 11 goals and has contributed either a goal (2) or an assist (2) in his last four Premier League home matches.

• Anthony Gordon has contributed to a goal in each of his previous four Premier League outings for Newcastle (1 goal, 3 assists), including assists in his last two away games against Ipswich and Man Utd.

• Tottenham have conceded the opening goal in 15 Premier League home matches in 2024, the highest such tally in a single year in competition history.

• Son Heung-min’s missed penalty against Wolves was only his second failure from the spot for Tottenham, with his previous miss occurring against Aston Villa in February 2020, saved by Pepe Reina.

Team news

Tottenham’s injury concerns have deepened, with Rodrigo Bentancur set to miss their next match following a suspension. The 26-year-old midfielder received his fifth yellow card of the season during Spurs’ recent 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. This accumulation of bookings before the mid-season cutoff triggers an automatic one-match ban, sidelining him for their upcoming game.

Additionally, summer signing Wilson Odobert is facing an extended absence due to a significant setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Spurs’ growing injury list continues to pose challenges for Ange Postecoglou as he navigates their campaign.

Mikey Moore has not featured since the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City in late October due to illness. Ange Postecoglou confirmed last week that the teenager’s return will not happen before the new year.

Meanwhile, Fraser Forster, deputizing for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, required treatment during the Wolves game, raising concerns about his fitness, though no official update was provided post-match.

Destiny Udogie was also forced off against Wolves with a suspected hamstring injury. The injury list remains extensive, with Ben Davies (hamstring), Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (thigh), Cristian Romero (thigh), and Richarlison (hamstring) all still sidelined.

For Newcastle, Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles, Nick Pope, and Emil Krafth are still unavailable at the time of writing. Sven Botman has made good progress from a knee injury but is not yet ready for first-team action.

Tino Livramento, who missed the win over Aston Villa due to illness, made his return in the victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Isak, who has netted 13 goals in 20 appearances this season, will continue to lead the attack, with Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon also expected to feature in the front three.

Predicted starting lineup 

Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup:

Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Reguilón; Bergvall, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke.

Newcastle United predicted starting lineup:

Dubravka; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.

Prediction

Newcastle have been in red-hot form in recent league games and have exerted dominance in attack and defence.

Facing a Tottenham side that have struggled at home and been leaky in defence presents them a chance to further put pressure on Chelsea and possibly usurp them to fourth place if the Blues fail to win their game.

However, Spurs in recent years are renowned for rising up to occasions when nobody least expects and falling flat when expectations are high.

They could break the Magpies’ clean sheet jinx, but protecting their own backline will be their toughest test, especially when they’ll be facing an in-form Isak and Gordon.

We’re predicting a 3-1 win for Newcastle.