Preview: Tottenham vs. Newcastle

Champions League-bound Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United bring the curtain down on their pre-season tours of Asia in Sunday's blockbuster showdown at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea.

The Lilywhites are riding high off the back of a historic North London derby triumph against Arsenal, whereas the Magpies are reeling from a third straight friendly defeat.

Match preview

Paying homage to the likes of David Beckham and Xabi Alonso, Spurs midfielder Pape Sarr settled the first-ever North London derby to be contested outside of the UK on Thursday, scoring a sensational winner from close to the halfway line in Hong Kong.

Had the contest been fought in the Premier League, the VAR probably would have taken a closer look at a perceived trip from Richarlison on Myles Lewis-Skelly in the lead-up to the goal, but take nothing away from Sarr's sensational effort, which left a helpless David Raya scrambling.

Thomas Frank's troops kept a toothless Arsenal attack at bay without too much fuss in the second half, thus extending their unbeaten friendly record at the expense of their rivals', making it four games without defeat under the Dane's wing.

The Europa League holders now boast a respectable two wins and two draws from their four warm-up matches so far - even if those stalemates were uninspiring ones against lower-league sides Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town - and two incredibly tough assignments are left on the agenda.

Following Sunday's scrap with the Magpies, Tottenham head back to Europe for a date with Harry Kane's Bayern Munich on August 7, nine days before their Premier League opener at home to newly-promoted Burnley.

While Spurs have started the summer as they mean to continue, the less said about Newcastle's pre-season preparations the better, both from an on-field and off-field point of view.

Eddie Howe's Magpies convincingly put four past Carlisle United without reply in their opening fixture, but they have since been condemned to a trio of dampening defeats to Celtic, Arsenal and most recently a K-League XI.

Kim Jin-gyu's first-half effort propelled the Suwon hosts to a 1-0 success on July 30, as a Newcastle outfit boasting the likes of Sandro Tonali, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon failed to break the K-League XI backline; a penny for Alexander Isak's thoughts.

The Swede - who is nursing a 'minor thigh injury' if Newcastle's word is to be believed - has supposedly now been the subject of one official failed bid from Liverpool, but while the Magpies' money men negotiate a Premier League record deal with the Reds, Howe's men have a hoodoo to extend.

Indeed, Newcastle have bested Tottenham in five of their last six meetings - winning each of their last three head-to-heads in the Premier League - but the time is surely nigh for an on-song Spurs side to lift that Geordie curse.

Tottenham friendly form:

Newcastle friendly form:

Team News

As well as the sextet of infirm players left at home - Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai, Manor Solomon, Destiny Udogie and Bryan Gil - Tottenham continued to make do without Dominic Solanke in midweek owing to his ankle concern.

Frank told the media after the match that he was hopeful of having the striker back in time for Sunday's game, but if the Magpies clash comes too soon, he will certainly be available to face Bayern Munich.

Speaking of the Bundesliga champions, Spurs are understood to be closing in on the signing of Portuguese midfielder Joao Palhinha on loan with an option to buy, but there is no chance of him making his debut here.

Solanke can empathise with a Newcastle counterpart over ankle injuries, as Joe Willock sustained such a problem in the dying embers of Wednesday's defeat, although Howe does not believe he is suffering from a major issue.

Regardless, it would be a surprise to see the ex-Arsenal man line up on Sunday, so a well-rested Bruno Guimaraes will surely come back into the midfield pack, potentially alongside Joelinton if Lewis Miley is also granted a break.

Sven Botman remains touch-and-go after tweaking his groin against Arsenal, but Howe's Isak-less squad is in good nick otherwise.

Tottenham possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Maddison, Bentancur, Sarr; Kudus, Richarlison, Son

Newcastle possible starting lineup:

Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Burn; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Osula, Barnes

We say: Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle

Whether the Isak speculation is playing on the minds of Newcastle's players only they can answer, but Howe's men are seemingly yet to adjust to the absence of their star striker on the field.

The Magpies' stellar head-to-head record against Spurs will therefore surely count for nought, as Frank's men extend their unbeaten sequence and prolong Newcastle's misery.

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