Preview: Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Separated only by goal difference in the middle of the Premier League rankings, inconsistent Newcastle United and declining Tottenham Hotspur tussle in Tuesday's midweek clash at St James' Park.

Eddie Howe's men roared to a 4-1 trouncing of Everton over the weekend, while their visitors' spate of home horror shows continued in a 2-1 loss to Fulham.

Match preview

The seventh time was the charm for Newcastle away from home, as Howe had presided over six winless matches on the road since the 2025-26 Premier League season began, but the Magpies belatedly broke their away duck at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Malick Thiaw's first-minute header set the tone for the remainder of the match, in which the defender completed an unlikely brace after earlier efforts from Lewis Miley and Nick Woltemade, who killed the game off as a contest before the break.

A Merseyside mauling was the perfect tonic to Tuesday's agonising Champions League loss to Marseille for the Magpies, who are now within touching distance of the top half of the Premier League table after their second consecutive win in the division.

Newcastle's recent feats over a sorry Spurs side have been well-documented, but the Magpies faithful have another reason to be overwhelmingly confident of their side's chances of victory on Tuesday; their six-game winning run at St James' Park.

The hosts have also netted at least two goals in all of those victories on their own turf - where Arsenal were the last side to best them in late September - and what is more, they are unbeaten in 10 straight midweek Premier League games at St James' Park.

While Newcastle benefitted from a quickfire goal on Saturday evening, Tottenham were on the wrong end of such history against Fulham, conceding twice in a Premier League home game in record time.

Kenny Tete's deflected striker and Harry Wilson's stunning curler - after Guglielmo Vicario had gone walkabouts - put the Cottagers 2-0 up inside just six minutes, and a ferocious Mohammed Kudus volley in the second half was a mere consolation.

After a third straight loss in all tournaments and a third from four Premier League matches, the atmosphere around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium grows increasingly toxic, with boos directed at Vicario throughout the remainder of the match before a cacophony of jeers towards the entire team at full-time.

Tottenham's lowly loss on Saturday also marked their 10th Premier League home defeat of 2025 - matching an unwanted record from 1994 and 2003 - so an away day should theoretically provide comfort given that they have claimed 13 points from 18 on offer on the road.

However, the reigning Europa League champions have lost six of their last seven games against Newcastle - including each of their last four - and not since October 2021 have they avoided defeat at one of their least favourite haunts, St James' Park.

Newcastle United Premier League form:

Newcastle United form (all competitions):

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Team News

Nick Pope's omission from the Newcastle squad against Everton was the big talking point after the Englishman's Marseille howlers, and the goalkeeper's groin problem is unlikely to settle down in time for the visit of Tottenham either.

Pope joins ex-Spurs full-back Kieran Trippier (hamstring), Yoane Wissa (knee), Harrison Ashby (thigh) and Will Osula (ankle) on the hosts' injury list, while Sven Botman has been managing a back problem and will need a late fitness test.

After both scoring and assisting on a rare Premier League start, 19-year-old Miley has surely done enough to hold his spot in the first XI in midweek, but Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon should be primed for returns over Anthony Elanga and Harvey Barnes.

Good news is in short supply for Tottenham right now, but the visitors will at least have defensive rock Cristian Romero back from a yellow-card suspension this week; the Argentine should immediately replace Kevin Danso in the backline.

Romero's return means that Spurs will head north with a six-strong injury list in James Maddison (ACL), Radu Dragusin (fitness), Kota Takai (thigh), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and Dominic Solanke (ankle), but changes should undoubtedly still be in order.

Despite boasting six goal involvements in 10 Premier League games against Newcastle, Richarlison is certainly at risk of the axe, as are all of Archie Gray, Joao Palhinha and Destiny Udogie.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; Livramento, Thiaw, Schar, Burn; Miley, Tonali, Guimaraes; Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Sarr; Kudus, Bergvall, Simons; Kolo Muani

We say: Newcastle United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Head-to-head history is not always the best indicator of future results, but St James' Park has been a cursed ground for Spurs down the years, and it was only a few weeks ago that Howe's side eased to a 2-0 EFL Cup win in this fixture.

The same outcome is entirely plausible this week, as Newcastle's stellar home form will surely trump Spurs' pleasing away record while the Lilywhites struggle to create chances and avoid defensive catastrophes.