Overview
Tottenham Hotspur will host Newcastle United in the Premier League in the middle of this week, in a match that could be a turning point for the future of both coaches.
Pressure is surrounding Thomas Frank in a disappointing season. The 0-2 defeat to Manchester United leaves Tottenham only 6 points ahead of the relegation group.
Cristian Romero's latest red card in the first 30 minutes at Old Trafford made the opportunity to score points even slimmer. The Argentine international became the first player to be sent off twice in the Premier League this season, meaning a 4-match suspension.
Romero apologized to his teammates in the dressing room, but that did not help much after the goals of Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes prevented Spurs from finding their first Premier League win in 2026.
That result is even more disappointing if we look back at the previous match, when Tottenham created an impressive comeback in the second half to snatch 1 point with a score of 2-2 against Manchester City.
Frank also does not have a good record when facing Eddie Howe. The Danish coach has only won 1 in 9 encounters between the two in the Premier League.
Howe certainly wants to continue to "bully" Frank, especially in the context that Newcastle has just suffered a wave of boos after losing 2-3 at home to Brentford. This defeat extends the gloomy days of the "Magpies" after losing 1-4 to Liverpool, and also being eliminated from the Carabao Cup due to a heavy defeat to Man City in the semi-finals (total score 1-5).
At St James' Park, Newcastle took the lead in the first half thanks to Sven Botman's goal, then equalized 2-2 with a penalty from Bruno Guimaraes. However, they still suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Premier League when Dango Ouattara sealed the victory for Brentford in the final minutes.
Howe's team dropped a total of 19 points from the lead this season, and the coach who used to work at Bournemouth admitted after the match that "it is clear that I did not do my job well".
Newcastle is currently only 10 points ahead of the bottom 3 teams, meaning they are in the mid-range - not too far from the relegation zone, but have not really broken away in the top group race.
If Newcastle wants to reverse the situation against Tottenham, Guimaraes is likely to be a key pillar. The Brazilian midfielder has contributed to 10 goals in the last 9 home matches in the Premier League (7 goals, 3 assists) - more than any other player in the league since the beginning of October last year.
Newcastle also hopes to welcome the return of Anthony Gordon and Lewis Miley after injury. Meanwhile, Tino Livramento and Fabian Schar are still sidelined.
On Tottenham's side, in addition to Romero's suspension, they are also worried about Destiny Udogie's condition after this left-back left the field due to a hamstring injury right at the beginning of the second half in Manchester. Young Brazilian player Souza came on as a substitute and made his debut for Spurs, and may also start for the club for the first time in the upcoming match.
Head-to-head record
There has never been a match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in the Premier League - in a total of 61 encounters - that ended with a score of 0-0. A total of 196 goals have been scored in these encounters, making this the fourth highest total number of goals in the league history.
Spurs are also experiencing a series of poor performances against Newcastle, losing 5/7 recent Premier League encounters. This number is only 1 defeat less than the previous 23 encounters between the two teams combined.
That head-to-head form means Newcastle has defeated Spurs the most in the Premier League than any other opponent (27 matches, equal to Aston Villa). However, the "Magpies" did not play too convincingly away from home when they only won 2 victories in the last 15 away matches in the Premier League.
Score prediction: Newcastle 2-3 Tottenham
The match between Tottenham and Newcastle takes place at 2:30 am on February 11 (Vietnam time).
