Newcastle vs Tottenham – Premier League: Eddie Howe forced into two changes from Fulham

The whistle is blown for half-time and I am gutted, I wish that half could have carried on.

Spurs fans will be happy that half is over though, their side lost their heads after Alexander Isak embarrassed Mickey Van der Ven to fire the posts in front.

Two minutes later, it was 2-0, and at that point, you felt it could be any number.

However, Spurs clun on until half-time and now Ange Postecoglou has his chance to lay into his team.

What a half of football, St James’ Park was on top form,

Two minutes before Spurs can get in and regroup.

They will be begging for that whistle, well, unless they can nick a goal before the break.

Craig Hope, Mail Sport, at St James’ Park:

Anthony Gordon watched his goal back on the big screen and it looked like he enjoyed it. This could be 5-0.

To think, Isak had only three touches inside the opening 25 minutes. He could have had five goals since!

That was naughty by Dan Burn.

The Newcastle defender raises a high boot but VAR checks the challenge and it’s cleared.

James Maddison then fires over, but Spurs are not happy with Burn at all.

There’s only one goal being peppered at the moment, and it’s not Newcastle’s.

The Magpies are all over Spurs. Alexander Isak is in again but can’t finish off a beautiful pass.

Jacob Murphy then has an effort before Fabian Schar heads over.

Tottenham somehow need to get their heads back on straight and calm this game down.

When St James’ Park gets up like it just has, there are no many harder places to play away.

If it carries on, this could be six again!

Tottenham are all over the place!

Alexander Isak is in again but Destiny Udogie manages to get a foot in to put the striker off.

I thought that was about to be 3-0!

It’s de ja vu for Spurs! It’s Anthony Gordon this time who is in and bends it past Vicario after Mickey Van der Ven can’t stay on his feet again.

What is happening to the Dutch defender, he is slipping all over the face.

What a nightmare couple of minutes for Spurs, but Newcastle are flying and St James’ Park is rocking.

After saying the game hadn’t got going, Alexander Isak fires Newcastle into the lead after taking Mickey Van der Ven to the cleaners.

So much credit has to go to Anthony Gordon who out muscled Destiny Udogie to feed Isak before he put Van der Ven on his backside to finish.

This game does not have any flow to it at all.

We’ve had a few half chances, but after I bigged it up before the match, it hasn’t really got going yet.

The fouls aren’t helping, at all.

Is Anthony Gordon the new Jack Grealish, he’s just been fouled again.

The England international is causing Spurs all sorts of problems with his directness and this time Mickey Van der Ven stops him in his tracks.

It looked like no card was going to be given, but Tim Robinson changes his mind and books the Dutch defender.

That’s harsh, the softest foul of the lot!

Referee Tim Robinson does not want to put his hands in his pocket today, that’s for sure.

Dan Burn stops James Maddison on the counter which looked a certain booking, but a card is not shown once again.

Timo Werner was away, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a goal would have come, though.

The crowd boo James Maddison after he body-checks Anthony Gordon.

That should be a yellow card I think, but the referee does not agree which frustrates St James’ Park.

I just laughed quite hard, I probably shouldn’t admit it though.

Timo Werner just fired a shot straight at his captain Heung-min Son which takes his feet from under him.

If ‘You’ve Been Framed’ was still a show, that would be a good clip for it.

That’s a bit better from Harvey Barnes.

The Newcastle winger dances around the Spurs defence to the byline and wins a corner.

Guglielmo Vicario looks really uncomfortable when corners are swung in, but he just about manages to hold onto this one.

Craig Hope, Mail Sport, at St James’ Park:

Slow start from Newcastle… they were 3-0 up this time last year!

Extremely poor from Eddie Howe’s side…I’m joking.

What a pass from Anthony Gordon.

The winger races down the righthand side and floats a brilliant ball across to Harvey Barnes who can’t control it.

They do win a corner which causes problems in the Spurs area, but they hook it away for another one which Barnes heads wide.

Nervy moments for Newcastle.

A Spurs corner is whipped in towards the back post, but Newcastle manage to get it clear.

Spurs then come back at them and Brennan Johnson whips a brilliant ball across to Timo Werner, who is in acres of space, but he volleys miles over.

Werner had to do better there, why did he go with his feet?

David Coverdale, Mail Sport, at St James’ Park:

As is customary these days at St James’ Park, a new banner was displayed in the Gallowgate End before kick-off.

It was a quote from Sean Longstaff, the Geordie heartbeat of this Newcastle team. ‘I love representing the city. Representing the people that are me.’

Newcastle fans will be hoping for a special performance from one of their own today.

Fabian Schar hacks down Heung-Min Son but somehow evades a yellow card.

I’m guessing it’s only because of how early in the game it is.

Tottenham are not going to pull their punches.

After 30 seconds they bomb forward, but can’t carve anything open.

If that’s anything to go by, this could be an open game, which I am all for.

After the Premier League anthem comes to an end, which is rubbish, by the way, we get underway.

The sun is shining, the atmosphere is vibrant and we have two great teams pushing for Europe.

On paper, this is going to be a cracker!

‘Hey Jude’ rings out around the ground – what a song – do you think it’s the most used song in football?

Anyway, the teams have arisen from the tunnel, and St James’ Park roars, I think we are in for a good atmosphere today.

This injury-ravaged Newcastle side are going to need it.

Eddie Howe, Newcastle boss, speaking to TNT Sports:

We have picked a versatile team. When you play Tottenham they are tactically interesting, we have picked a versatile team that can match up to Tottenham very well.

Spurs stick to what they do [well]. Their rotations are very good and regardless of the formation we have to be adaptable, then of course on the ball we have to do what we have to do.”

You have to get them [supporters] into the game and have a good attitude, entertain them – the crowd will back us as they always do.

With these two sides, expect goals.

Tottenham are a goal-scoring machine, in particular, they found the net in 42 of their 43 matches this season.

They also love a goal at St James’ Park, Spurs have scored on each of their last 17 visits to the ground in all competitions since 2005.

I bet it will be 0-0 now I’ve mentioned this…

Do you think both sides will end up in the European spots they want by the end of the season?

I don’t think so, I think due to injuries Newcastle will miss out.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham boss, speaking to TNT Sports:

We’re in the best position we have been in, apart from the first ten games, in terms of a squad and being able to rotate players.

Rodi [Rodrigo Bentancur] will be good today, he is getting back to his levels where he can break teams open with his running – we are going to need it.

I’ve got a feeling we are going to need more than the guys who are starting today in midfield because it is going to be a high-energy game.

I wonder what is going through their heads right now?

Probably, ‘don’t concede five goals in the first 21 minutes’.

I would love to be a fly-on-the-wall in their changing room in the moments before kick-off.

It’s a huge game for Spurs.

Darren Eales, Newcastle United CEO, and Daniel Levy, Tottenham Chairman, have paid their respects to former Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear, who passed away last week at the age of 77.

The pair laid flowers in the memorial garden at the stadium for Kinnear who was manager of the Magpies between 2008 and 2009, and Director of Football between 2013 and 2014.

Craig Hope, Mail Sport, revealed exclusively in early April that Newcastle would be wearing a one-off shirt today with the sponsor of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.

There will be additional tie-ins to RNID today as well.

Spurs have been extremely up and down this season, but there is no denying that they are a fantastic team.

Going into today Spurs sit in fourth level on points with Aston Villa, but with a better goal difference and a game in hand.

You feel they are now in pole position for a Champions League spot and a win today would do them a whole lot of good.

Even with a tough run-in, it’s theirs to lose.

Craig Hope, Mail Sport, at St James’ Park:

I said this before Everton last week, but the bench would be my concern from a Newcastle perspective. Games now are won and lost with 15/16 players, not 11. And Newcastle (again) have very little to turn to in reserve.

Newcastle fans are some of the best in the country.

I’m surprised that I’m yet to see a fan with their shirt off yet, it’s April, so there are bound to be a few.

You can feel the buzz around the ground already!

Alexander Isak, what a player.

In the 6-1 pasting Newcastle handed out to Spurs last year, Isak was the standout for me, netting two goals in two minutes.

The Swedish striker has already netted 15 goals this season in only 23 games, five more than he managed last campaign.

I said to my colleague that I believe he is the best signing in the Eddie Howe.

What do you guys think, is he?

Rodrigo Bentencur is back in the Tottenham starting line-up.

He is the only change to the side that beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 last week.

Is this 11 strong enough to pick up ll three points today?

Eddie Howe makes just the two changes from the side that beat Fulham last week.

Elliott Anderson and Harvey Barnes come into the starting 11 for the injured Joe Willock and Lewis Hall – who is benched.

Tino Livramento is also a shock inclusion as he is fit enough to be named on the bench.

I must admit, that’s a fairly strong attack, despite the injuries.

Eddie Howe, Newcastle boss, speaking on Friday:

That was a special game for us, everything clicked. We were devastating in attack, we were ruthless. One of those days you get rarely in football where everything went our way.

This is a totally different Tottenham team now. I admire them tactically, and physically, I think Ange [Postecoglou] deserves big credit with how his philosophy has been implemented and with the speed it has.

You didn’t have to wait long.

If you’re a Tottenham fan, you may want to scroll past this post, but you won’t want to if you’re anybody else.

In this very same fixture last season we saw the very best of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle and the very worst of managerless Tottenham.

The Magpies were relentless, shipping six past a hapless Spurs, with five of those goals coming in the first 21 minutes.

It was a match that showed the gulf in class between the two sides at the time and is one that will live long in the memory of both sets of fans.

Surely we won’t get a repeat of that today, will we?

Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham boss, speaking on Friday:

Certainly, there is a cautionary tale there that getting into the Champions League also means greater demands.

Demands on players, demands on the squad and you have to be geared up for it or else it can affect all parts of your season.

It has been tough on Newcastle this year because the progress last year was fantastic, the reward for that was the Champions League and this year for whatever reason it has made it a really challenging season on all fronts for them.

Tottenham love a trip to St James’ Park, most of the time.

The north London side have come out on top in six out of the last nine meetings between the two sides in the northeast.

However, those results probably aren’t in the mind of the current Tottenham squad, but one will be.

You know which one iI’m talking about, but you’ll have to wait a little longer for that post.

Would it be a shock if Newcastle were to win today? I think it would.

I say this just because of the Magpies’ injury problems, not because they aren’t good enough to do it.

In reality, if Tottenham want to leapfrog Villa into the top four by the end of the season, they have to win here today.

Spurs still have to play all of the top three sides, they have a really tough run-in, but they can’t waver their focus away from today.

It’s a huge game for both sides and could determine where they end up finishing this season.

You won’t be able to keep your eyes off this one.

Is football back already?

You’ve got to love the final run-in, the football is non-stop which is perfect for people like me who adore the sport.

If you’re the same, you’re going to love what the Premier League is serving up in the early kick-off as Tottenham travel to St James’s Park seeking revenge after last year’s horror show (I reckon the Newcastle fans will be smiling right around now).

With both teams gunning for Europe in their own way and in a stadium that is notorious for creating an intimidating atmosphere, I think this is going to be very enjoyable, don’t you?

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, make sure you don’t miss this one, you’ll regret it otherwise.