Spursvs.Newcastle

During their 2-2 stalemate against Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 29, the Lilywhites witnessed Rodrigo Bentancur pick up his fifth yellow card of the season, thus ruling him out of the lunchtime kickoff.

However, Djed Spence is back from a ban of his own, an incredibly timely return after fellow full-back Destiny Udogie went off with a suspected hamstring injury last time out, joining Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Mikey Moore (illness), Richarlison (hamstring), Cristian Romero (thigh), Wilson Odobert (hamstring) and Ben Davies (hamstring) in the sick bay.

Spence for Udogie should be a straight swap in an otherwise unchanged Tottenham backline, as Pedro Porro, Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin continue in a makeshift rearguard in front of Fraser Forster.

Bentancur's ban could trigger a change in system for Postecoglou, who might also consider demoting Yves Bissouma to the bench and bringing both James Maddison and Pape Sarr back into the engine room.

Dejan Kulusevski, who has excelled in a central role on several occasions this season, could also form one-third of an attack-minded midfield, especially with Brennan Johnson likely to keep his place on the right-hand side of the attack.

The Welshman's goal against Wolves means that he has now either scored or assisted in his last four Premier League home games, and he should reprise his offensive role with Dominic Solanke and Son Heung-min; the latter is seemingly in need of a break but should be fine to go again after only completing 64 minutes of the Wolves draw.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Spence; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Written by

Ben Knapton