The latest Spurs team news and predicted XI ahead of their Premier League encounter with Newcastle.
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Tottenham Hotspur will go in search of their first win in five games when they take on Newcastle United on Tuesday evening – and manager Thomas Frank badly needs a win to ease the pressure after a string of disappointing performances.
While an away game may come as a welcome relief after the recent 2-1 home defeat to Fulham generated a hostile response from Spurs’ own fans, Frank will still have to make do without at least six first-team players due to injury, although at least one key defender will be back for the game at St. James’ Park.
Ahead of a potentially pivotal match, we’ve collected all of the latest Spurs team news and injury updates below, along with our prediction for Frank’s starting line-up.
Cristian Romero return as Guglielmo Vicario faces pressure from Spurs fans
While Spurs will miss several players through injury – more details on their fitness and likely return dates can be found below – they will at least be able to welcome Cristian Romero back after he served a one-match suspension for collecting five yellow cards in the Premier League.
The Argentine will likely partner Micky van de Ven once more as Spurs search for ways to protect under-pressure goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who was controversially booed by his team’s fans after his mistake led to Fulham’s second goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the weekend.
Frank backed Vicario in his pre-match press conference, telling the press: “Everyone can make mistakes but the way he carries himself impressed me very much. [Vicario] is remarkable. His character is fantastic in every aspect." There are no indications that the Italian faces being dropped for the Newcastle match.
Elsewhere in defence, the only immediate question is whether Destiny Udogie or Djed Spence starts on the left, which will likely depend on whether or not Frank chooses to persist with the 4-2-2-2 formation he deployed unsuccessfully against Fulham and PSG last week.
Six out as Dominic Solanke and Kota Takai remain sidelined against Newcastle
Frank told the media that Spurs would have the same players available for selection as they had against Fulham (with the exception of Romero) meaning that players such as striker Dominic Solanke (ankle) and defender Kota Takai (thigh) remain unavailable.
Takai has returned to training but is short of match fitness after sustaining consecutive injuries since signing for Spurs this summer, while Frank has suggested that Spurs will be cautious with Solanke’s reintroduction to avoid a recurrence of an ankle issue which required surgery earlier in the season. Both are likely to be back in mid-December.
Dejan Kulusevski, meanwhile, is still not back in training as he rehabilitates from an ACL injury but is expected back for the Christmas period, James Maddison is out for the season, also due to a ruptured ACL, and centre-back Radu Dragusin is still working back to full fitness after his own ACL injury. The final injured Spurs players is midfielder Yves Bissouma – Frank has still not provided the media with a possible return date after he sustained ankle ligament damage while on international duty in October.