Tottenham Hotspur are searching for their first Premier League victory since mid-December but Paul Merson believes Newcastle United may not hand the Lilywhites that opportunity.
Tottenham are 11th in the Premier League table, which despite being unexpected at the start of the season, is easily explained by the number of times they have failed to pick up any points. With nine losses in the Premier League, Spurs have been defeated in more matches than they have won.
The season did not start too well for Spurs, but they went on to pick up five consecutive wins in all competitions after their mid-September North London derby defeat. They then experienced mixed results until a Europa League loss to Galatasaray which has since seen them fail to achieve victory in most of their matches.
Since that defeat on November 7, Spurs have lost six matches, drawn four and won only three in all competitions. This is in contrast to their upcoming opponents, Newcastle United, who are on a four-match winning streak.
Paul Merson has praised Ange Postecoglou for his entertaining brand of football, but he does not believe Spurs have been good enough to challenge a side as in-form as Newcastle.
Making his prediction on Sportskeeda, he said: “With the way both teams are playing, I have to go with a Newcastle win here. I know Manchester United aren’t great, but I thought Newcastle were brilliant in that 2-0 win. They are flying at the moment and I don’t expect this game to be any different.
“When you look at Tottenham, they are still in the running to win a trophy. I know that some sort of silverware will be a huge relief for their fans. However, they look a million miles away from finishing in the top four and that’s a problem. They are 11 points behind Chelsea and all the six teams, including Newcastle, between them and the Blues have all looked better!
“The Spurs fans will not have complaints with the football they’re watching under Ange Postecoglou though. They wouldn’t want to go back to the old days under Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho because this is at least positive football.
“And when you play this kind of expansive football, it really is difficult to keep it tight at the back. If I had to pick one team to watch purely for the sake of entertainment in the Premier League, that would be Spurs – no doubt.”
Despite his optimism around Tottenham’s style of play, Merson believes Newcastle have too much quality, including their star striker who could cause the Spurs defensive line some problems.
“Newcastle have hit good form at the right moment. If they end up strengthening the squad in January, they can push Chelsea and Nottingham Forest to the end for third spot. But whether they dip into the market or not depends on Financial Fair Play (FFP) of course,” Merson continued.
“It will be interesting to see if they receive an offer for Alexander Isak too. If I was Arsenal, I wouldn’t think twice and put in a massive bid to sign him in January. Isak is a real handful and is in terrific form. Even if Arsenal don’t win the league this season, they will definitely win it next season, if they have him in their line-up!”
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Newcastle United
With five goals in his past three matches, Isak is on fire and this has contributed to his league total of 12 goals and four assists so far this season. Tottenham’s top scorer James Maddison, who has found the back of the net eight times in the Premier League.
Spurs could have a backline which includes Sergio Reguilon, who has made just one appearance off the bench all season, although Djed Spence could also return.
Meanwhile, their centre-back partnership of Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray is a long way off first choice. So if Spurs are to stop Isak and bring Newcastle’s winning run to an end, every player will have to give 100 per cent on the day.
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