Tottenham Hotspur Vs Newcastle United Preview: Ange Postecoglou Rescue Mission

Captain Son Heung-min is expected to bring Tottenham Hotspur to life against Newcastle United. (X/@SpurOfficial)

JAKARTA - Tottenham Hotspur's difficult mission at home to Newcastle United in the English Premier League match. Winning is certainly Tottenham's target in a duel at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Saturday, January 4, 2025 evening WIB. This also carries a mission to save the manager Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham showed a revival while slaughtering Southampton 5-0 in the Premier League. Success continued in the Carabao Cup by eliminating Manchester United after winning 4-3.

But the North London club has failed to maintain consistency and has decreased. They have failed to win over the past three games, including experiencing a 6-3 massacre at home to Liverpool.

The bad result made Tottenham stuck in the middle board. They are ranked 11th with 24 points. Same as Brentford, but The Lilywhites are still ahead on goal difference.

Tottenham's poor performance made Postecoglou's position uncomfortable. Moreover, Tottenham's position is closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League or the top four.

He was also under pressure because Tottenham is in danger of failing to win another trophy this season. Contrast to Tottenham's achievements at the start of the season. They immediately shot up leaving their competitors.

However, their appearance was inconsistent so that Son Heung-min et al's position continued to decline. This is what makes Postecoglou try hard to improve the team's performance so that it doesn't plummet further after being detained by Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2.

The draw was clearly disappointing because Tottenham had a chance to win against Wolves. Already ahead 2-1, but Tottenham ended up failing to get three points.

Now, they hope to rise. Despite facing a tough opponent, Postecoglou wants the match to be a moment of Tottenham's revival. This Australian man wants to break a bad record of never winning in five home games in the Premier League. They last won five consecutive times in the 1994 season.

If Tottenham are still breathless, Newcastle is entering an impressive period. Eddie Howe's side have always won their last five games in various competitions. In the game before the turn of the year, The Magpies beat MU 2-0 at Old Trafford.

A satisfying victory because it was achieved at home to the opponent while improving Newcastle's ranking. Now, Alexander Isak et al are in fifth position with 32 points. Only they are 12 points behind with the leadership of the Liverpool standings.

"If you look at the character of the game of the two teams, I prefer Newcastle. In the last match, they played brilliantly even against MU, who had already experienced a decline. However, Newcastle still showed their best performance and they will reap no different results in this match," said Paul Merson, former Arsenal star and England national team when making predictions for the match at Sportskeeda.

"On the other hand, Tottenham is far from a chance to win trophies. I know fans really want to win trophies. But they are still far from finishing in the top four. They are already 11 points behind Chelsea and there are still many teams to go through, including Newcastle," said Merson.

In that match,men did not fully maintain the winning team. Isak is back as a starter at the center forward. He was accompanied by Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon.

Defender Kieran Trippier will be absent after suffering a hamstring injury in the match against MU. His position was replaced by Tino Livramento.

Meanwhile, Tottenham lost Destiny Udogie to a hamstring injury. In addition, Rodrigo Bentancur was absent due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

Postecoglou is getting dizzy because goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has not recovered from an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Micky van de Ven, Total Moore, Richarlison, Cristian Romero, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies are also still absent.

However, Tottenham can still rely on Dominic Solanke who worked hand in hand withUS Johnson and Son. It's just that with the poor condition of the team, Tottenham really had to work hard to get up.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup Forecast (4-3-3): Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Spence; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Newcastle United (4-3-3): Dubravka; Livramento, Kelly, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon