London calling
Tottenham are taking on Newcastle in a Super Sunday clash between two teams who will be hoping for a drastic improvement on their midweek results.
Spurs are on a run as bizarre as it has been dismal, having picked up just one point from their past five games – all of which they scored the first goal in.
That run makes Ange Postecoglou’s men the first team in Premier League history to score first and fail to win in five straight matches.
The last of those was a 2-1 loss at home to West Ham on Thursday night, which was particularly disappointing after Spurs picked up an impressive 3-3 draw at champions Man City on Sunday.
However, there remains a lot of belief in Postecoglou’s methods and attacking style of football in this corner of North London with the mood completely different to a year ago under Antonio Conte.
Newcastle, meanwhile, thought they were heading decisively in the right direction with a 1-0 win over Man Utd in which they were far more dominant than the scoreline suggested.
However, Eddie Howe’s injury-hit side were brought back down to earth when they were outbattled at Everton on Thursday night and went down 3-0.
The Toon will also have one eye on Wednesday’s huge Champions League clash at home to AC Milan, where they must win to have any chance of progression to the knockout stages.
Despite turbulent recent runs, both teams will have an eye on a Champions League spot.
Tottenham, in fifth, are currently three points behind fourth placed Man City with Newcastle a further point back in seventh.
And fifth place could even be enough to qualify for the Champions League next season if Premier League teams’ average results in Europe are among the two best.