Kick-off: 9:30pm (AEST) Venue: St. James' Park, Newcastle TV: Live, SBS Online: Live, Optus Betting: Tottenham $2, Newcastle $3.60, Draw $3.50 Overall record: Played 158, Tottenham 68, Newcastle 58, drawn 32 Record in EPL: Played 46, Newcastle 21, Tottenham 19, drawn 6 Last meeting: Wednesday May 9, 2018 (EPL) - Tottenham 1 defeat Newcastle 0 at Wembley Stadium, London Last five: Tottenham 3, Newcastle 2 Referee: Martin Atkinson
Newcastle United (squad)
1. Robert Elliot (GK), 12. Martin Dubravka (GK), 26. Karl Darlow (GK), 41. Freddy Woodman (GK), 2. Ciaran Clark, 3. Paul Dummett, 4. Ki-Sung-Yueng, 5. Fabian Schar, 6. Jamaal Lascelles, 7. Jacob Murphy, 8. Jonjo Shelvey, 9. Salomon Rondon, 10. Mohamed Diame, 11. Matt Ritchie, 13. Yoshinori Muto, 14. Isaac Hayden, 15. Kenedy, 17. Ayoze Perez, 18. Federico Fernandez, 19. Javier Manquillo, 20. Florian Leujeune, 21. Joselu, 22. DeAndre Yedlin, 30. Christian Atsu, 36. Sean Longstaff, 37. Callum Roberts, 42. Jamie Sterry
Tottenham Hotspur (squad)
1. Hugo Lloris (GK), 13. Michel Vorm (GK), 22. Paulo Gazzaniga (GK), 2. Kieran Trippier, 3. Danny Rose, 4. Toby Alderweireld, 5. Jan Vertonghen, 6. Davinson Sanchez, 7. Son Heung-Min, 8. Harry Winks, 9. Vincent Janssen, 10. Harry Kane, 11. Erik Lamela, 12. Victor Wanyama, 14. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, 15. Eric Dier, 16. Kyle Walker-Peters, 17. Moussa Sissoko, 18. Fernando Llorente, 19. Mousa Dembele, 20. Dele Alli, 21. Juan Foyth, 23. Christian Eriksen, 24. Serge Aurier, 25. Josh Onomah, 27. Lucas Moura, 33. Ben Davies, 38. Cameron Carter-Vickers
For the second year in a row, Newcastle United will host Tottenham Hotspur in the opening weekend of EPL action. Join The Roar for live scores from 9:30pm (AEST).
Last year, it was Tottenham claiming victory in both of the matches between these sides. After a 2-0 win on opening day, they fired later in the season to win 1-0 at Wembley.
Of course, Tottenham only have one game left at Wembley this season before moving into their new stadium, which is just about completed.
Still, starting the season on the road will be a good chance for the ‘Spurs to test out where they are at against a side who were middle of the road last season and probably won’t be much different this time around.
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Harry Kane is the main man for the Spurs up front and he will need to have a similarly good season to the last one if Tottenham are to improve.
Tottenham were pretty strong during the 2017-18 season, finishing ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal to take third spot in the league and confirm their automatic qualification spot for the Champions League.
Still, they have been at the top of the league for some years now without winning it, and they will want to cross that bridge this year.
Points on the road are critical and this poses as a danger game, but they should be able to come away with the win.
For Newcastle, a tenth-place finish last year was a fair result and indicative of the talent they have at the club. While their pre-season form has been pretty good, going higher on the league ladder by the end of the season feels like it might be a difficult exercise.
Salomón Rondón, on loan from West Bromwich Albion will be crucial up front for Newcastle if he gets on the field, but how they go in this game will depend on their defensive line and how they are able to contain Kane, who finished second for goals in the EPL last season.
Prediction
Tottenham should win this, even if they are on the road.
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Newcastle 0 – Tottenham 1.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from 9:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.