MX23RW : Thursday, July 4 05:52:48| >> :120:28348:28348:

Preview: Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Preview: Newcastle vs. Spurs
© PA Photos
Andre Villas-Boas begins his managerial career with Spurs as they travel to face Newcastle in arguably the pick of the opening weekend's fixtures.

New signings Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen are available for Andre Villas-Boas's first game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur - a tough Saturday evening trip to Newcastle United.

Spurs narrowly pipped the Magpies to fourth place last campaign, but it has been all change at White Hart Lane this summer, with Villas-Boas replacing Harry Redknapp in the biggest managerial switch of the off-season.

Real Madrid-bound Luka Modric will not feature as he nears a move to the La Liga champions, while influential midfielder Scott Parker is out injured after undergoing Achilles surgery.

Villas-Boas is likely to implement a new 4-2-3-1 system, with Sandro and newly-capped England international Jake Livermore providing protection for a back four which is likely to see Vertonghen partnered by Younes Kaboul in central defence.

With the protracted permanent transfer of Emmanuel Adebayor still ongoing, Jermain Defoe will lead the Spurs attack, hoping to add to his England goal in midweek.

Newcastle were arguably the Premier League overachievers last season, but Alan Pardew will be optimistic that his side can match that finish this year.

New signing Vurnon Anita is available for selection but may start on the bench with Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote continuing their much-hailed midfield partnership.

Rumoured Spurs target Demba Ba is expected to start up front alongside Papiss Cisse, who was prolific for United after joining from German outfit Freiburg last January.

Possible lineups:

Newcastle: Krul; Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon; Gutierrez, Cabaye, Tiote, Ben Arfa; Cisse, Ba

Spurs: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Livermore, Sandro; Bale, Van der Vaart, Sigurdsson; Defoe

Sports Mole says: 1-1

ID:40610: cacheID:40610:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4186:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jermain Defoe
Read Next:
Lambert confirms Defoe, Jones interest
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
 
8pm
Quarter-Finals
Portugal
vs.
France
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!