Newcastle United predicted line-up vs. Tottenham: two major changes made as £39m star returns to starting XI

Newcastle United will look to continue their push for European qualification when they come up against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League’s lunchtime kick-off this Saturday. The Magpies have lost just one of their past five top flight outings, and picked up all three points against Fulham in a 1-0 win last weekend.

That result leaves Eddie Howe’s men eighth in the table, one point behind West Ham, but with a game in hand over the Hammers and a vastly superior goal difference. Similarly, Newcastle are just two points adrift of Manchester United in sixth.

For their part, Tottenham broke into the top four last weekend after a relatively routine win over Nottingham Forest, and will be looking to open up a gap between themselves and fellow Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa.

But how will both teams line up at St. James’ Park this weekend? We’ve taken a look at their respective team news and predicted starting XIs below...

Newcastle United Team News

Newcastle continue to be plagued by first team absences, and could be missing as many as a dozen players heading into Saturday’s clash with Spurs. In defence, centre-back pairing Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are both expected to be out of action for a considerable amount of time due to serious knee injuries, while Kieran Trippier and Valentino Livramento are also set to miss out on Eddie Howe’s match day squad.

Further forward, teenage sensation Lewis Miley is sidelined with a lower back complaint, Joelinton is still recovering from thigh surgery, and Sandro Tonali continues to serve his ban for gambling-related offences. Centre forward Callum Wilson and winger Miguel Almiron are still a little way off full fitness, as is goalkeeper Nick Pope, who is expected to be back in contention by the end of the month.

Elsewhere, full-back Matt Targett is a doubt, as is midfield colleague Joe Willock. Discussing the latter’s issue last week, Howe said: 'Joe still feeling his Achilles. He has been feeling this problem for some time now. We hoped that he would steadily improve. He did not look right and [was] unable to continue.'

Newcastle United Predicted XI

Martin Dubravka; Emil Krafth, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Lewis Hall; Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Elliot Anderson; Harvey Barnes, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon.

Tottenham Team News

By comparison, Tottenham have relatively few injuries to worry about. Deputy goalkeeper Fraser Forster is still recovering from a fractured foot, while Ryan Sessegnon is not expected to feature again this season after undergoing surgery on his right hamstring.

Elsewhere, Manor Solomon suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from a knee complaint, and has had to have another procedure that is likely to rule him out until the summer. Spurs’ only other doubt is Richarlison, with Ange Postecoglou saying last week: “The only one from the other night is Richy - he's had a bit of a niggle with his knee - so we'll probably give him this weekend off. Hopefully, he'll be back for Newcastle.”

Tottenham Predicted XI

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Mickey van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Destiney Udogie; Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr; Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Timo Werner; Son Heung-min.