Tottenham Hotspur will be bidding to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League when they host Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Spurs were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday—their second defeat of the season. It was a missed opportunity for Antonio Conte’s side to surpass second-placed Manchester City in the table, although a quick turnaround means the north Londoners have a chance to respond to the defeat at Man United.
Conte will expect his boys to put in a much-improved performance against Newcastle, who are just two points adrift of the top four spots.
Tottenham Team News
Emerson Royal is available for selection again having served a three-match ban. But Tottenham forwards Richarlison (calf) and Dejan Kulusevski (hamstring) will remain sidelined for some time while Lucas Moura is still not match fit.
Antonio Conte has no fresh injury concerns from the midweek defeat to Man United.
Predicted Tottenham Lineup vs Newcastle (3-5-2)
Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris was in excellent form against Man United, making a series of top saves to keep the scoreline respectable for Tottenham. Conte will hope his goalkeeper is not called into action on Sunday as many times as he was in the game at Old Trafford.
Defence
Lining up in the 3-5-2 formation, Conte is expected to make just one change to his three-man backline. Eric Dier and Cristian Romero will keep their spots in the Tottenham lineup, but Clement Lenglet could get the nod ahead of Ben Davies on the left-hand side of a back three.
The Tottenham backline must stay on their toes throughout the 90 minutes to keep an in-form Newcastle United attack at bay.
Midfield
The Spurs midfield is likely to comprise of Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Bissouma will start at its apex as the defensive midfielder, and his presence should give Bentancur and Hojbjerg the impetus to push forward when needed.
Free from suspension, Emerson Royal could walk back straight into the Tottenham lineup and slot in at right wing-back.
He is in contention to replace Matt Doherty, whereas Ryan Sessegnon can possibly come in for Ivan Perisic at left wing-back in the Tottenham lineup. Both Emerson and Sessegnon will get the license to bomb up and down their flanks and influence Tottenham’s play in the final third.
Attack
Harry Kane is a shoo-in to start up front for the hosts. He will be accompanied by Heung-min Son in a two-pronged attack for Spurs as the duo look to combine well and cause problems to the Newcastle defence.
Lucas Moura, Bryan Gil and Ivan Perisic might have to settle on the bench and hope to make an impact when called upon by the manager.