After an important come from behind win against Watford, Tottenham Hotspur will take on Newcastle United on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side managed to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool as the two sides failed to win, and are now just seven points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The win against Watford was better than most other victories because of the circumstances. Despite going behind, Spurs turn the game without some of their key players.
Newcastle are expected to put up a strong challenge after the Magpies beat Manchester City in their last game.
Unlike Tottenham, Newcastle had a busy deadline day as well, but it’s unlikely the new signings will start come Saturday.
Dele Alli and Harry Kane are not expected to return until mid-March, so Tottenham might yet have to grind out results in the coming weeks. Ben Davies is also nursing a groin injury and is set to miss out.
Heung-min Son played immediately after returning from the Asia Cup against Watford, and is expected to recover from the cramps he suffered late on against the Hornets.
Defence
Pochettino went with a three-man defence against Watford, and might stick with the same considering Newcastle will have a packed midfield as Rafa Benitez has preferred the 5-4-1 system.
The trio of Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen are likely to continue at the heart of the defence.
Kieran Trippier is expected to return and replace Serge Aurier in the right wing-back position, but Danny Rose is expected to continue on the left as Davies is unavailable.
Hugo Lloris should keep his place in goal and will want to put in a more solid performance than what he mustered against Watford.
Midfield
Harry Winks, Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier are expected to keep their place in the three-man midfield.
Eriksen is likely to play in a more advanced role compared to Winks and Dier who are more defensive minded than the Dane. Sissoko misses out.
Attack
It’s unlikely we’ll see Son get a start come Saturday even if he is declared fit. The South Korean needs a breather and it doesn’t make sense to play him twice in a week even though he’s probably the fittest player in the squad.
Lucas Moura might partner Fernando Llorente up front. Llorente will be relieved after finally opening his goalscoring account for Spurs in the Premier League this season against Watford last Wednesday.
Moura – Llorente
Eriksen
Rose – Winks – Dier – Trippier
Vertonghen – Sanchez – Alderweireld
Lloris
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