Spurs v Newcastle United: Magpies Fly in this Sunday

tottenhamHaving gone down to Everton on the opening day of the 2020/21 season, Spurs bounced back with two wins in a week and are now looking to build on that momentum. On both occasions, we had to come back from behind after conceding to Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Southampton but the nature of that 5-2 victory over the Saints has put us all in a better frame of mind.

On Sunday, we welcome a Newcastle team who opened their campaign with a 2-0 win away to West Ham before going down at home by a 3-0 scoreline at the hands of Brighton. It may well be a tight 90 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in this 2pm kick off although the bookmakers don’t agree with that assessment.

Team News

Prior commitments mean that we have to construct this match preview before we know the result from Thursday night’s game in Macedonia. That also means that we cannot update the team news as we aren’t aware of any injuries sustained in that game.

Prior to Thursday’s match, it was clear that Gareth Bale would be sitting it out while Japhet Tanganga was a doubt and we expect that this situation will continue for Sunday. In the meantime, you’ll just need to check the official announcement from the club for confirmation.

Match Odds

Tottenham go into this match as clear favourites and, following Newcastle’s poor start to the campaign, we’re very short ahead of kick off. The best odds on the home win currently stand at 1/2 with BetFred while the top price on victory for Newcastle United is the 13/2 from GentingBet. Completing the result market is the draw which is quoted at a best of 15/4 with Betway and there is likely to be some interest in a share of the points.

Those numbers must be based on Newcastle United’s sluggish start rather than a blistering opening to our own campaign and even the neutral punters aren’t likely to be getting behind Spurs with any great confidence. We think it could be closer than the figures suggest so let’s move on and take a look at the players who can decide the destiny of the game.

Side Bets

harry kane

Harry Kane

Our need to cover this preview in advance of Thursday’s tie means that we could be including players who will be sitting this game out. Obviously, check any injury updates before committing.

At the time of writing, Harry Kane is a clear favourite to open the scoring and you can claim the striker at best industry odds of 3/1 with VBet. Son Heung-Min follows on at a top price of 5/1 with VBet while the same bookie is one of the only firms quoting for Dele Alli at 11/2.

Tottenham players continue to dominate the first goalscorer section with Steven Bergwijn at best odds of 23/4 with Unibet and 888Sport, followed by Lucas Moura at a top price of 7/1 with BetFred. Eventually, we get to Newcastle’s first representative as new signing Callum Wilson comes in at a best of 9/1 with Betway.

Other, longer range options from a Spurs point of view include Erik Lamela at best odds of 19/2 and Giovani Lo Celso at a top price of 11/1 – both with 888Sport and Unibet.

Regular readers of these previews will know that we like to stick with a small set of side bets and we’ll move on to cover an old favourite – Both Teams to Score. BTTS is on offer for this game at 7/8 with VBet and it’s always one to consider for any match featuring Spurs.

While we drew a blank on the opening day against Everton, we’ve been in good scoring form since and have now scored seven times in our opening three games. As for Newcastle, their seven goals against Morecambe on Wednesday boosted their tally to nine in four but, it’s notable that BTTS would not have returned in any of those four games.

The stats do suggest that we might get a few goals and that’s encouraging for the totals markets. Anyone backing Over 2.5 goals can currently find best odds of 7/9 with VBet but we’d like to push that to Over 3.5 in return for a top price of 2/1 with SportNation and RedZone.

Based on those theories, we might be looking to consider the 2-2 draw in the Correct Score market which drops in for this match at 18/1 with GentingBet. Alternatively, a positive look at a 3-1 home win will return 11/1 with 10Bet and VBet while a repeat of last season’s 0-1 defeat is available at 18/1 with GentingBet and VBet.

Last Season

A number of Spurs fans point to the corresponding fixture last season and have suggested that this is where it started to go wrong for us under Mauricio Pochettino. Newcastle came into the match after a poor start under new manager Steve Bruce but they managed to sneak away with the points thanks to a first half Joelinton goal.

It was a forgettable moment in our campaign so we’ll forget it and move on to the away fixture which came in after Project Restart. On July 15th, two goals from Harry Kane and a strike from Son Heung-Min sealed a 3-1 victory during a good period of form which eventually saw us seal sixth place. Clearly, we’d like to see a repeat of the second performance at the new WHL on Sunday.

Verdict

newcastle unitedAs always, this is a game where the opposition will feel that they have a chance. Spurs were impressive in that thumping 5-2 win last weekend but the Saints did play their part with a high line which allowed Sonny to spring the offside trap time and time again.

Newcastle should be more cautious but, if we play to our best then we should be comfortable.

We’ll skip the result for fear of jinxing it and look to tip Steven Bergwijn for an anytime goal. A number of our midfielders are ‘due’ and the Dutchman should be looking to make a mark at a time when Spurs are adding to the squad.

Elsewhere, we’re looking for a few goals so will back Boths Teams to Score and will go over the 3.5 totals line. A scruffy 1-0 win will do but we’ll attempt to keep it positive this season.

Best Bets

  • Steven Bergwijn to score at any time in 90 minutes at 21/10 with SportPesa
  • Both Teams to Score at 7/8 with VBet
  • Over 3.5 Goals at 2/1 with SportNation

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