Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur match preview.
Posted on January 21st, 2011 | 27 Comments |
Andy Carroll’s thigh injury saga continues, Alan Smith looks like he will be out for the whole season with a nasty ankle injury, Dan Gosling’s knee has flared up again just after returning from nine months on the sidelines, Hatem Ben Arfa’s long recovery from a double leg break continues, as does that of Ryan Taylor (another ankle injury). Meanwhile, Steven Taylor’s hamstring remains a doubt, and Sol Campbell’s illness has now turned into a very minor calf / shin injury so he’s aso doubtful. Finally, captain and second highest goalscorer, Kevin Nolan is also rumoured to have a throat infection.
Besides injuries, Tiote will serve the second of his three suspensions picked up for a sending off in Newcastle’s F.A. Cup fiasco against Stevenage Borough. Winger, Wayne Routledge will also be going out on loan back to his old club, Queen’s Park Rangers and is probably unlikely to feature.
However manager, Alan Pardew, has been defiant in pre match interviews, with the manager telling The Shields Gazette:
“We’re in a win business – nothing else,”
“We’re Newcastle United, and I expect us to win – I don’t care who the opposition is.
“It would be brilliant, but it’s a tough ask. We’ve had some terrible news this week about Alan Smith, and we’ve lost Dan Gosling as well this week.
“We’re going into the game with a depleted squad, which is far from ideal, but having said that, we’re off the back of a great performance.
“We’ve got a strategy to beat them. It is difficult, but they have shown away from home that if we can create enough pressure, which we didn’t do in the first game, you can trouble them.
“Put Stevenage to one side, because we didn’t perform that day, in the Premier League games I can’t fault the attitude of the squad players that have come in.”
He has an ally in the BBC’s “Match of the Day” pundit, Mark Lawrenson, who also fancies a result for the Magpies. He told BBC Sport online:
“Newcastle are very unpredictable at the moment. They should probably have taken all three points at Sunderland last week because they were the better side but what you always get from them under manager Alan Pardew is a team willing to battle.
They get their foot in and they press the opposition, and they do both of those things extremely well.
“Tottenham have been on a great run but they lost at Everton and drew at home to Manchester United in their last two league games, and I think they might be in for another frustrating time here.
“I still think Spurs are heading in the right direction, though. Steven Pienaar is an excellent signing from Everton, and he is a really useful player because he can play in any position across the midfield – he’s a good footballer, runs at people and commits defenders.
“Pienaar is another attack-minded player to add to the long list at Tottenham and it’s another clever buy by Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.
“Redknapp has let David Bentley go out on loan to Birmingham, made Robbie Keane available and is probably thinking about allowing Nico Krankjar to leave as well. He is changing his options around in that department and has such great competition for places.
“Prediction: 2-1.”
There is also more grounds for optimism for the Magpies in looking at previous results too, with Newcastle winning the last four matches at St James’s Park. However on the other side, ‘Spurs have won the last two matches between the teams.
Meanwhile, looking at things from the Tottenham point of view, manager, Harry Redknapp, will be welcoming new signing from Everton, Steven Pienaar, to the squad.
On the Tottenham team news front, Ledley King, Jamie O’Hara and Tom Huddlestone are all out with longer term injuries, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Wilson Palacios both doubtful after picking up minor knee knocks in training. The seemingly permenently injured Magpie’s old boy, Jonathan Woodgate, played a practice match in midweek as he recovers from his latest injury.
In the light of all the Newcaste United injuries mentioned above, it could be a very tough game against a Champion’s League side, but here’s hoping for a repeat of our last four home games against the North London club.
Howay the lads!
Newcastle Squad: Harper, Krul, Simpson, Perch, Ferguson, Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Barton, Nolan, Gutierrez, Guthrie, Vuckic, Donaldson, Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Best, Ranger.
Tottenham Squad: Gomes, Pletikosa, Cudicini, Hutton, Corluka, Dawson, Kaboul, Gallas, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto,
Sandro, Palacios, Jenas, Bale, Lennon, Modric, Dos Santos, Van der Vaart, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Keane, Defoe, Pienaar.
Venue: St James’s Park, Newcastle.
Date / Time: 22nd January, 3PM.
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1091 articles on this blog.
With what we,ve got left of the squad, we hav,nt got a snowball,s chance in hell of getting anything from this game so we,ll probably win 2-0. Howay the Lads.