Tottenham v Newcastle: Preview, predicted line-ups & injury news

Thomas Frank has a selection headache before he has even settled into his second season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are all ruled out, and Mohammed Kudus is a doubt with a muscle injury, leaving Spurs short of attacking options just days after they were taken apart 3-0 at Brentford on the opening weekend.

Tottenham's opening-day collapse at Brentford was as bad as the scoreline suggests. Frank's side had 60% possession and racked up nine shots, but managed only 0.57 expected goals against a Brentford side that scored three from an away trip. They failed to score, failed to keep a clean sheet, and conceded from an average of three goals a game, numbers from a sample of one that nonetheless set an alarming tone.

The bigger concern is personnel. Losing Kulusevski, Maddison, Odobert and Simons in one go strips out four players who between them cover the two most creative positions in Frank's system. Kudus being added to the doubtful list on top of that leaves the head coach picking from a threadbare pool of attacking midfielders for Newcastle's visit.

Newcastle will arrive in good spirits after holding Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at St James' Park in their own opener. Eddie Howe's side had only 39% of the ball but were the more direct outfit, generating 13 shots and an expected goals figure of 1.58 against the champions. That draw also produced both teams scoring, in keeping with a pattern Newcastle have shown regularly against the bigger clubs.

A win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be a statement start to the season, particularly against a home side already patched together through injury. Newcastle have shown before that they travel well to big London grounds, and Howe will fancy his side's chances of exploiting a Spurs midfield now missing its two most creative outlets.

Neither side has a win to show from their opening fixture. Tottenham lost, Newcastle drew, and both numbers come from a sample of one game so far this season. Newcastle at least have a point on the board and looked the sharper attacking side in their opener, working an expected goals total almost three times higher than Tottenham managed against Brentford. The form guide below is thin on data this early in the campaign, but the underlying numbers point to Newcastle carrying the better attacking threat into this one.

Both clubs go into round two with a single game played. Tottenham sit with zero points after the Brentford defeat, while Newcastle have one point from their draw with Liverpool. It is early enough in the season that neither result carries lasting weight, but a losing start at home would leave Spurs needing an immediate response before the fixture list gets tougher. For Newcastle, a win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would put them level on points with several of the sides who won on the opening weekend and set an early marker that last season's inconsistency has been addressed.

Newcastle have the better of the recent history between these two. They won the last meeting 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 10 February 2026, having earlier drawn 2-2 at St James' Park in December 2025. Both of those games produced goals at both ends and finished with three or more goals on the scoreboard.

That pattern, goals for both sides and a low bar for the over 2.5 line, lines up with the current form of both teams. Tottenham conceded three at Brentford, Newcastle shipped two against Liverpool, and neither has shown the defensive solidity that would point to a low-scoring afternoon. On the numbers, both teams to score and over 2.5 goals both look like fair reads of how this fixture tends to play out.

The biggest gap between these sides right now is going forward. Newcastle's 1.58 expected goals from their opener is more than double Tottenham's 0.57, and they also averaged more shots, 13 to Tottenham's nine. Tottenham's compensation is territorial control, they had 60% of the ball against Brentford compared with Newcastle's 39% share against Liverpool, but possession without penetration did nothing to stop three goals going in at the other end. If Spurs dominate the ball again without the injured creators to make it count, Newcastle's more direct approach could be the difference.

Kick-off is at 17:30 BST on Saturday, 29 August 2026 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Premier League fixtures in this slot are typically shown live on Sky Sports in the UK, with streaming available through the Sky Sports app and Sky Go for existing subscribers. Check your regional broadcaster listing nearer kick-off to confirm coverage.

The value in this one sits in the goals markets rather than the result. Tottenham's threadbare attack and leaky defence at Brentford, set against Newcastle's habit of being involved in high-scoring games against the bigger clubs, points firmly towards goals at both ends. The correct score and anytime scorer picks below build on that same story.