Tottenham and Newcastle have both visited Manchester United in the last seven days and the difference in their performances offer an illustration of just how quickly Eddie Howe’s Magpies are closing the gap on the established big six.
Newcastle went to Old Trafford and gave as good as they got — Howe’s men hit the woodwork twice, were denied a strong penalty claim, and goalkeeper Nick Pope was called into action on only two occasions during the 0-0 draw.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was far busier on Wednesday night, making eight impressive saves as his side were swamped by United, who left as comfortable 2-0 winners.
However, while Spurs’ away performances this term have offered cause for concern, Antonio Conte is turning the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a fortress, with his team winning their last 10 consecutive home matches.
If Howe’s men can now go to north London and breach Conte’s stronghold, Newcastle supporters will be forgiven for dreaming of a serious push for the Champions League places.
Team news
Conte has wing-back Emerson Royal back from a three-match suspension but the Spurs manager will still be without two key attackers.
Dejan Kulusevski has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury and could be out for another couple of weeks while Richarlison picked up a calf injury against former club Everton, but expects to return before the World Cup.
Howe has a significant number of concerns within his Newcastle squad, with midfielder Joelinton the latest injury doubt after he had to come off at half-time against Everton in midweek.
Allan Saint-Maximin is also likely to miss out as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury — the livewire attacker is making progress but this game may come too soon.
Striker Alexander Isak has been ruled out until after Christmas with a thigh injury and the same appears to be true of winger Matt Ritchie.
Right-back Emil Krafth will miss most of this campaign with an ACL injury but reserve goalkeeper Karl Darlow is only a week or so from returning.
The stats
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham have a perfect home record so far this season
Tottenham have enjoyed a strong start on home soil but have been aided by a kind fixture list.
Four of their five Premier League wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have come against teams sitting in the bottom seven and their only victory against a top-half side — as the table stood going into the weekend — was a 2-1 victory over ninth-placed Fulham.
Spurs had a patchy home record against the better sides last season, losing as many games as they won against top-half teams and drawing 2-2 against Liverpool.
However, Newcastle lost both meetings with Tottenham in the last term, slipping to a 3-2 defeat at St James’ Park under Steve Bruce and receiving a 5-1 thumping in north London after Howe took charge.
Those results were part of a trend of Newcastle coming up short in the big matches last term — they lost all eight meetings with teams who finished in the top four and took just two points from a possible 30 in trips to top-half opponents.
The early signs are that Howe’s men will improve on that record this season, having already held Manchester United and Manchester City to draws.
However, they have yet to win any of their four matches against teams in the top eight.
Prediction
Both teams are on their way to becoming very good sides under new managers, but neither club is quite there yet and a sprinkling of poor results and performances tarnish two generally impressive records.
While Tottenham will finish the day above Newcastle regardless of Sunday’s result, it is the visitors who have caught the eye so far this season with impressive draws against the two Manchester sides while also racking up high-scoring wins over Brentford and Fulham.
However, Spurs step up a level in front of their home supporters and this will be another tough examination for Howe’s men.
Recent results give no reason to suspect Newcastle will fold at Tottenham as they did last season, with their only loss this term coming in a 98th-minute defeat at Liverpool.
However, the fact that they have won only at Fulham in their five Premier League away trips this season — a run that includes draws at Brighton and struggling Wolves — suggest the draw, which is available at 12/5 with LiveScore Bet, is the likeliest outcome.
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