Premier League: Spurs must exorcise St James’ Park demons

St James’ Park has been the scene of some harrowing defeats for Tottenham Hotspur in the past two years and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs will be hoping to put things right when they face Newcastle United on Sunday night.

It started in April 2023 when Spurs were sent packing back to north London on the back of a 6-1 thrashing at St James’ Park.

That was before Postecoglou’s time in England and the Australian got his own taste of a thrashing from the Magpies in the north east, as Tottenham suffered a 4-0 defeat there last season.

Hoping to have learned lessons from the past, Spurs will look to exorcise their St James’ Park demons this weekend against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

. What: Newcastle v Tottenham
. Where: St James’ Park, Newcastle
. When: 22:30 (AEST), Sunday 1st September
. How to watch: Optus Sport
. Odds: Newcastle 2.50, Tottenham 2.50

Spurs look to build on Everton thrashing

After the frustration of a 1-1 draw at Leicester City in their opening game, Spurs really let loose against Everton with a 4-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last time out.

It was a far more clinical performance for Spurs, which is what Postecoglou admitted was lacking from his side at the King Power Stadium earlier in the week.

Skipper Heung-Min Son opened his goalscoring account for the season with a brace against Everton and the South Korea star is 2.50 to score anytime against the Magpies on Sunday and 6.50 to bag the first goal of the game.

Summer signing Dominic Solanke picked up an ankle injury against Leicester and is expected to return to action after the international break, with the hope being he will be fit for the North London Derby against old rivals Arsenal.

Postecoglou will look to Son to bag the goals this weekend, in a game Spurs are 2.50 to win, while a draw is available at 4.00.

Newcastle with a steady start

The Magpies were handed a favourable start to the season with their fixtures, with a home game against newly-promoted Southampton, followed by a trip to Bournemouth.

Grinding out a 1-0 win over the Saints, before a 1-1 draw against the Cherries has been a solid if not inspiring start to the season for Newcastle.

The Magpies will face their sternest test of the campaign so far when they host Tottenham this weekend.

Newcastle are also 2.50 for the three points, which suggests this could be a much tighter affair than we have witnessed over the last couple of seasons.

Alexander Isak is the main goalscoring threat for the hosts, with the Swede available at 2.20 to score anytime and 5.50 to score the first goal of the contest.

It’s a big game for both teams, who will both have aspirations of a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.