Tottenham Hotspur vs. Newcastle United

Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United lock horns for the Premier League’s early evening clash on Saturday February 11 with both sides aiming to home in on their long term targets for the campaign.

For Spurs, only a win will do if they are to keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the league and stay in with a chance of lifting the title.

Newcastle meanwhile must continue their impressive run of form to keep the heat up on Chelsea for a fourth place finish and subsequent Champions League qualification.

This fixture looks primed to give Manchester United vs. Liverpool a run for its money as game of the weekend and an attacking affair looks almost certain as a draw will not enhance either club’s long term prospects moving into the final third of the season.

The task at hand seems rather more daunting for the Toon Army who will have to put an end to Spurs’ excellent home record which has seen them lose just once since the start of August – a crushing 1-5 loss to Manchester City which can easily be excused based on Tottenham’s pre-season interruptions thanks largely to the London riots.

Since that wake up call, Tottenham have romped to nine victories and two draws on their own turf and it is no surprise to see them as strong favourites at 1/2 to add Newcastle to their list of victims.

Nevertheless, the Geordies have a fairly solid recent history in North London and have spiked all three points at the Lane on four occasions since 2002 – and Alan Pardew’s current crop are undoubtedly the best Tyneside has had to offer since the days of Bobby Robson and their last major foray on the continent.

Prolific marksman Demba Ba will also be back in the fold for Newcastle after Senegal’s early exit from the African Nations Cup and he will be looking to strike up an instant effective partnership at domestic level with compatriot Papisse Cisse who was recruited from German outfit Freiburg during the January transfer window.

Spurs will also be able to call upon the services of a new forward in the shape of Louis Saha; however the Frenchman will probably have to be content with a place on the bench for the time being with Emanuel Adebayor in such fine fettle.

In truth, an on song Spurs should have too much for the tenacious Toon Army but Pardew may have a few tricks up his sleeve towards preventing the hosts from being able to fire all guns blazing.

Newcastle’s run of three consecutive successes at the turn of the year was halted abruptly by a 5-2 bashing at the hands of Fulham at Craven Cottage but that defeat will have taught Pardew and his players a great deal and they can definitely come away from this encounter with at least a point if they approach matters correctly and equip themselves as well as they have done on the main since the start of the campaign.

After losing their crucial battle with Manchester City at the Etihad, Tottenham responded well by beating Wigan but it may only be a matter of time before they fade away.

Spurs are too short at 8/15 and the 13/2 generally available for an away win looks to be a sneaky bit of value if albeit not a complete guarantee.

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06/02/2012     © Frixo 2024