Newcastle vs. Tottenham — Eddie Howe: Match Preview

Newcastle United face Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening, with both teams level on points in mid-table. Eddie Howe’s side are targeting a third straight Premier League win after a convincing 4-1 victory at Everton, while Spurs arrive on the back of three consecutive defeats in all competitions.

Newcastle ended their away drought at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, where goals from Malick Thiaw, Lewis Miley and Nick Woltemade settled the contest before halftime. That result followed a strong home run, with Howe’s team now unbeaten in 10 consecutive midweek Premier League fixtures at St James’ Park. They have also won their last six home matches across all competitions, scoring at least twice in each.

Tottenham’s home struggles deepened over the weekend with a 2-1 loss to Fulham. Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson scored inside six minutes to leave Spurs trailing early, and Mohammed Kudus’s second-half goal was only a consolation. Their defeat marked a 10th home league loss of 2025, equalling a club record. Despite better away form earlier in the season, Tottenham have lost six of their last seven meetings with Newcastle, including the last four.

Nick Pope is unlikely to recover from a groin problem, while Kieran Trippier, Yoane Wissa, Harrison Ashby and Will Osula remain sidelined. Sven Botman faces a late fitness test. Miley should keep his place after scoring at Everton, with Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon expected to return in the wide roles.

Cristian Romero returns from suspension for Tottenham, replacing Kevin Danso in defence. However, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai and Radu Dragusin are all out injured. Richarlison and several others could be rotated after another poor performance.

Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk

On the injury statuses of Yoane Wissa, Sven Botman and Nick Pope…

“Yoane participated in an 11v11 training game while we were at Everton. He’ll have another one at some stage this week and we’ll see how close he is.

“With Sven, he’s going to see a specialist in the next couple of days to get a definitive opinion on whether he needs an injection or whether he’s able to rest for a few days and resume training.

“No further update from Saturday. He [Nick] is one of a number of players we’ll analyse early this week and try to get a proper diagnosis.”

On finding consistency…

“It’s vitally important we find the consistency we’re searching for. It seems like we’re going between Champions League and Premier League and not quite finding that sweet spot we’ve been searching for all season. Hopefully this is the turning point for us. Every opponent we face in the Premier League is so difficult and now we face Tottenham who are a very good team with their own strengths. We’ll put our plan in place to try and find a way to win.”

On Malick Thiaw, who scored his first goals for Newcastle United since arriving from AC Milan last summer in last weekend’s victory against the Toffees…

“It’s an interesting one with Malick because he’s ended up, if you look back at our set plays, getting his head on quite a bit so his movement, his aggression, his timing is really good.

“But he hadn’t put the finishing touches to that in the way he did on Saturday with two great headers. It’s great to see that work coming good for us. The importance of set play goals, we’ve discussed so many times. It wins and loses you games so it’s great to see us on the right side of it, hopefully that continues.”

On Lewis Miley, who became the youngest player since Charles N’Zogbia in September 2005 to produce a goal and assist in a Premier League match for Newcastle last weekend…

“He’s there on merit and he’s fighting for a starting place. He’s impressing me with how he’s training and how he’s preparing himself for every opportunity he gets. It was a big moment for him on Saturday.

“He wanted the ball, he was very good with the ball, that was key for us. He played with calmness and control. He set a goal up, scored a goal – it couldn’t have gone any better, really.”

On Aaron Ramsdale, who made his 250th career appearance in Saturday’s 4-1 win against Everton…

“I’m sure he felt good returning back to Newcastle, as we all did, after the game. He can be very pleased, it’s a really good start for him and I’m sure he’s in a really good place.”

On Anthony Elanga…

“The first transition of the game right from kick-off is him running the length of the pitch onto a pass from Nick and almost scoring. That set the tone for us and he can be very pleased with his contribution.

“He’s beginning to settle into the rhythm of life at Newcastle because it is a change for any player. I see a very level, steady performer and I think he’ll continue to get better and better.”

Howay!

• Date: Tuesday, December 2nd

• Kick-off: 20:15 BST / 15:15 EST

• Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle (England)

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