Tottenham v Newcastle: Isak to star in goal-heavy game | OneFootball

English Premier League

Newcastle have won four consecutive games without conceding a goal

Injury-ravaged Tottenham look vulnerable against in-form Newcastle on Saturday. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing the Magpies to pick up a positive result in the capital.

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Alexander Isak scored 25 Premier League goals for Newcastle in 2024 while Anthony Gordon has been directly involved in a goal in each of his last four Premier League appearances for the Magpies.

The pair will enjoy playing against a Tottenham side that leave plenty of gaps at the back.

Tottenham v NewcastleSaturday January 4, 12:30Live on BT Sport

Postecoglou hurting over poor Spurs form

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is hopeful of turning Spurs' fortunes around despite seeing his side drop into the bottom half of the Premier League following a frustrating 2-2 home draw with Wolves last week, leaving the capital club 11 points adrift of the top-four. The Australian admitted the recent run had him "hurting", but suggested the campaign was far from over.

He said, "It hurts me because I'm responsible, ultimately. So, of course, it hurts and when I see how hard they are trying, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward. I just feel that at some point we'll get a relatively healthy squad and when we do that, we'll be able to perform at a high level consistently, and we've already shown this year we can beat anyone."

Postecoglou still look a way off from being able to field a strong Spurs XI with Rodrigo Bentancur suspended for Saturday, joining Ben Davies, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero on the sidelines. Djed Spence is available again but Radu Dragusin is also carrying a knock, leaving the Tottenham defence down to the bare bones.

Newcastle arrive in confident mood

Newcastle head to Tottenham in fine form having collected four consecutive Premier League victories alongside clean sheets for the first time since 2012 to shift into fifth in the top-flight standings. After overseeing an eye-catching 2-0 success at Man Utd, a delighted Toon boss Eddie Howe admitted the Magpies will head to the capital with confidence.

Howe said, "Confidence is the ultimate thing that makes the difference. The players are playing in their best positions and look happy and comfortable, and our injury record has also improved from last year. I always say we respect the opposition, but we don't fear anybody. We just need to step forward and deliver those performances under pressure."

As well as the long-term injured Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles and Nick Pope, Howe will also have Fabian Schar unavailable here with the Swiss defender suspended. Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento are both available, whilst Sven Botman could be in the squad after a long injury lay-off, though Lloyd Kelly looks likely to partner Dan Burn in central defence.

Tottenham impossible to trust

Tottenham have lost four of their last five Premier League games against Newcastle (W1-D0-L4), as many as they had in their previous 15 (W9-D2-L4). In fact, the Magpies had achieved a top-flight double over Spurs in just one of 12 campaigns between 2008 and 2022 but the Tynesiders could now complete that feat in two of their last three terms.

Tottenham look big at 3.00 considering they were as short as evens for this fixture last term. However, Spurs defensive injury issues make it impossible to trust Ange Postecoglou's outfit here with the hosts as low as 10th in the Expected Points (xP) rankings over the last 12 games. Spurs are also winless in five successive home league games for the first time since 2008.

Newcastle 2.34 dismembered Leicester and Ipswich before recording cushy wins over both Aston Villa and Man Utd recently. xP ratings have the Magpies fourth across the campaign, reflecting their impressive league position with only Liverpool (23) and Nottingham Forest (21) earning more EPL points than the Toon (20) since the start of November (W6-D2-L2).

Expect entertainment

Newcastle Double Chance can therefore be the foundation for an odds-against Bet Builder here with Both Teams To Score almost a given whenever Tottenham play at home. I'll also include Alexander Isak Anytime Goalscorer to give us an attractive 7/4 shot on Saturday.

Spurs have seen a remarkable 24 of their 29 home Premier League fixtures under Ange Postecoglou pay-out for Both Teams To Score backers - the same 84% hit-rate has also occurred for Over 2.5 Goals hunters with 48% of those contests producing four strikes or more. Meanwhile, Newcastle have managed just five clean sheets in their last 29 away days.

Swedish hitman Alexander Isak has now scored in nine of his last 10 Premier League starts, notching in six on the spin. Overall this season, the Newcastle striker has plundered 12 league goals in 17 appearances at a rate of one every 115 minutes and the 25-year-old should be presented with plenty of opportunities against a porous Spurs rearguard.

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