Welcome to the Newcastle v Spurs preview.
A League Cup match playing for a place in the quarter-finals – Wednesday 29 October and an 8pm kick-off.
Newcastle United, defending champions of the League Cup, can take a huge step towards another Wembley showpiece this Wednesday night when hosting Tottenham Hotspur for a place in a fourth successive quarter-final.
With the match kicking off just forty-eight hours before Halloween, Toon fans will be hoping for a treat rather than a trick.
News is awaited on the fitness of Sven Bat-man, Harvey Bones, Emile Witch-Krath, Fabian Scare and Lewis Halloween.
A fair few former players may well be in attendance as well including Keith Ghoulespie, David Bat-ty, Charles N’Zombia, Craig Hellamy, Jean Alain Boo-msong and Jonas Spookierez!
Form
Newcastle have played one League Cup match this season and put League One side Bradford City to the sword with relative ease. First half goals from Joelinton and Osula had us 2-0 up at half-time before another Joelinton strike put the match beyond doubt. Lifelong Toon fan Cook had his moment of glory when making the score 3-1 but a further goal from Osula put the gloss on a fine win for the Toon.
Tottenham hosted Doncaster and ran out 3-0 winners. This was a straightforward win for Spurs who, despite making seven changes, found themselves 2-0 up after just seventeen minutes and on their way to the next round.
Last time out
Newcastle hosted Fulham on Saturday and just about deserved the three points that were earned through Bruno’s wildly celebrated last-minute effort. The Toon started brightly and hit the post twice in the opening few minutes. Jacob Murphy then scored at the Leazes End before missing an almost identical one-on-one chance soon after. The second half was a more nervy affair and things looked ominous for the black and whites when Fulham scored an equaliser on 56 minutes. At this point, it would have taken a brave man to bet anything on the outcome of the final score. With the match ticking towards a 1-1 draw, twenty minutes of NUFC pressure paid off when substitute Osula ran at the defence and fired a shot towards goal that was parried into the path of our captain to fire home the winner.
Tottenham travelled to Everton on Sunday afternoon and dismantled the toffees with three headers to become the first away team to win at the Hill Dickinson stadium. Spurs 2-0 up at half-time, they strolled to a victory that fired them up to third in the Premier League.
Stat attack!
Newcastle have won their past three home matches against Spurs.
NUFC have scored an astonishing sixteen goals in the past five home matches with Tottenham.
Newcastle have recorded 4-0, 5-1, 6-1 (twice) and 7-1 victories at home to Spurs in the Premier League era. Let’s hope for a few more Toon goals this time around!
Memorable match
Christmas came early for Sir Bobby and the Toon Army when Tottenham visited for an FA Cup replay on Dec 22nd 1999. The first match had seen a nervy 1-1 draw with NUFC grateful for a Gary Speed headed equaliser to bring Spurs back to St James’ Park.
A similarly close encounter was expected with Sir Bobby even using a training session to practice for a penalty shootout. In the end, one of our largest victories of the season was achieved with something to spare as the Toon ran riot and hammered their opponents.
With barely five minutes on the clock, Gary Speed continued where he left off in the last match and swept home to give United the lead. Things got even better soon after when Nikos Dabizas headed in a Nobby Solano corner to double the advantage. Former favourite David Ginola was playing for Tottenham and every touch of his was met with boos and jeers from Toon fans, his reply was to fire an effort from outside the area that deflected off a defender and looped into the net.
If Spurs had gone into the half-time break at just 2-1 down then it may have given them a chance to regroup and have a real go in the second half. The pivotal moment of the match however came at the very end of the first half. With the Tottenham ‘keeper struggling to contain the close attentions of Speed and Shearer, the loose ball fell to Duncan Ferguson who drove home an effort off the underside of the bar to restore our two goal advantage. Whilst our massive Scotsman went mad celebrating, Sir Bobby must have known that the pendulum had swung back in the favour of the black and whites and the game was clearly there for the taking.
The second half was all United but it took the introduction of livewire Kieron Dyer to add further scoring. He’d been on the pitch just a few minutes before bursting through and passing a shot into the bottom corner to make it 4-1. With the Toon now looking for a cricket score, it was only a matter of time before Shearer got in on the act. Firstly, our number nine was fouled in the area and stepped up to crack home the penalty, soon after he buried a bullet header to complete the scoring and ensure a very Merry Christmas for NUFC, who would march on all the way to a Wembley semi-final. Final Score Newcastle 6-1 Tottenham.
Played for both
Jonathan Woodgate is widely acknowledged to be one of the best defenders to play for NUFC in the Premier League…when fit! Whilst his ability could never be questioned, his injury record was abysmal. Signed by Sir Bobby in Jan 2003, he stayed for eighteen months before moving to Real Madrid, having only managed twenty-eight league games for the Toon. He played for Spurs for three seasons from 2008 and holds a special place in their history, having headed home the winning goal in the League Cup final against Chelsea to give Spurs their first silverware for nine years.
Stephen Carr was one of Sir Bobby’s last NUFC signings, coming from Tottenham in 2004. He had spent eleven years at White Hart Lane and is remembered for winning a League Cup medal in 1999 as well as scoring brilliant goals against Man United and Sunderland. He didn’t have the best of times at NUFC but did score an absolute belter away at Southampton to give us our first league win there for thirty-two years.
Moussa Sissoko looked like a world-beater when he arrived at NUFC in Jan 2013 and was man of the match when running Chelsea ragged on his home debut. He spent three and a half years at St James’ Park and even had a brief stint as captain. Unfortunately, all the talent in the world can’t make up for an appalling attitude and it was a case of ‘good riddance’ when he left for Spurs following our relegation in 2016. He stayed with them for five years and scored just three league goals.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 2-1 win over Fulham:
“I didn’t think the performance was bad and I’m delighted how we found a way to win. The strongest part of our game was the last twenty minutes; we hadn’t started the second half well. We needed to inject a different energy onto the pitch. After that, we were the dominant team and you’re just hoping you take one of those chances. Late goals don’t just affect the game you’ve won, it affects mood and belief going forward. It can have a big knock-on effect. We’ve had heartbreak the other way: this felt like a massive moment for us.”
Thomas Frank after a 3-0 victory away at Everton:
“Very happy to be able to go here to Everton and they’ve been very good at home. Any away match you win 3-0 in the Premier League is super impressive. First half, we took control of the ball and passed more. The second half was more of a dog fight, which it can be in the Premier League. The season is very young. We won after the Champions League and that is not easy to do. Set pieces are so crucial. Right now, Arsenal is on track for the title from set pieces. We scored two very good goals and the boys competed excellently in our box.”
Charity
Newcastle United fans food bank will once again be collecting opposite the Gallowgate end and gratefully receiving food, money and toiletries for those in need. Of particular interest are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, cordial, long life milk etc) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give whatever you can, any donation is very much appreciated.
For further info and/or to donate online go HERE.
Prediction
I think this is going to be an absolutely classic match. Both teams will think they can win and both will have half an eye on the trophy. We have a brilliant record at home to Tottenham and this will continue as we march on in our defence of the competition. Newcastle 3-2 Tottenham