Wolves’ late equalizer by Jørgen Strand Larsen secured a 2-2 draw on Sunday, adding pressure to Postecoglou’s position. Tottenham had taken the lead after Hwang Hee-chan’s goal thanks to Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson, but another similar letdown came in the 87th minute.
Johnson has been a rare bright spot for Spurs in an otherwise inconsistent season. He is their leading scorer in all competitions this season, with 11 goals, and the Welshman has scored (2) or assisted (2) goals in each of his past four Premier League home games.
However, Johnson’s success has not translated into favorable outcomes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Postecoglou’s side has gone winless in five Premier League home games, the longest such sequence since an eight-game run under Juande Ramos from March to October 2008.
Spurs last had a longer winless streak at home in a single season from October 1993 to April 1994 (14), and their problems have pushed them down to 11th in the table, 11 points behind the top four.
There is no good news on the injury front to alleviate Postecoglou’s concerns. Destiny Udogie limped out against Wolves with a hamstring injury, joining Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, and Guglielmo Vicario as absentees. Bentancur is also suspended for a needless fifth yellow card of the season late in his last game.
Improvements are also not certain here, given that Tottenham has lost their opening league game in two of the last five calendar years (W2 D1), more than they have in the preceding 16 years combined (W11 D3).
Newcastle has only won one league match in the last 12 calendar years (D3 L8), a 1-0 victory over Stoke City on New Year’s Day 2018. Eddie Howe’s side, on the other hand, is in excellent form as they go north.
Newcastle’s 2-0 win over Manchester United on Monday made it four straight top-flight victories to conclude 2024, moving them up to sixth place in the league, three points behind Chelsea.
Tottenham vs. Newcastle Head-to-Head
This partnership has scored 189 goals in Premier League games, making them the third-highest scoring fixture in the competition’s history.
Tottenham and Newcastle have met 59 times without a 0-0 draw, which is the most in Premier League history.
It could be difficult to separate the two again; Tottenham have won two of their last three home league games against Newcastle, as many as they had in their previous seven. However, Howe’s team has won four of their last five Premier League meetings against Spurs (L1), a feat that previously required 15 games.
Newcastle are also looking to complete the double over Spurs for the second time in three seasons, having done so only once in the previous 12 campaigns, as Harvey Barnes and Isak scored in a 2-1 victory in the reverse meeting this season.
Tottenham vs. Newcastle Prediction
The Opta supercomputer predicts an away win on Saturday, with Newcastle winning 41% of the 10,000 pre-match simulations.
Tottenham ended a five-game winless streak at home in 34.5% of data-driven simulations, while the draw was ranked at 24.5%.
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