Key events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Transfer news: It is being reported that Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of signing Slavia Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who is reported to be in London undergoing a medical. A fee of £12.5m plus add-ons is being mentioned for the Czech Republic U-21 international who has made 29 appearances for Slavia Prague this season and kept 14 clean sheets.
Eddie Howe on the chatter linking Alexander Isak with a January move away from St James’ Park: “Our players are loved by us and wanted by us,” he told reporters. “Their focus can only be on the here and now. I don’t see it being an issue for us, especially in this transfer window. The players are very focused.”
Ange Postecoglou on Tottenham’s transfer window plans: “The club is working hard to get some help for the playing group,” he told reporters. “We need to bolster up our numbers a little bit. January is obviously not an easy time to bring players in quickly and we still want to do what’s best for us rather than panic.”
Today’s match officials
-
Referee: Andy Madley.
-
Assistants: Nick Hopton and Craig Taylor.
-
Fourth official: Lewis Smith.
-
OUR: Chris Kavanagh.
-
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis.
Those teams: As expected, third choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin starts for Spurs and the 25-year-old from Hemel Hemstead will make his first senior appearance in English football following short loan spells in Denmark and the USA. The most recent of those, with Orlando, was in 2021.
Elsewhere in the side, Timo Werner starts ahead of Son Heung-min, while James Maddison is on the bench. Djed Spence gets another start, in place of the injured Destiny Udogie. Lucas Bergvall comes in for the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur.
Sven Botman is welcomed straight into the heart of Newcastle’s defence on his return from nine months on the sidelines with a knee injury, while Tino Livramento starts at full-back in place of Kieran Trippier, who drops to the bench.
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bergvall, Sarr; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner; Solanke.
Subs: Whiteman, Reguilon, Dorrington, Hardy, Bissouma, Maddison, Olusesi, Son, Lankshear.
Newcastle United: Dubravka; Delivery, Botman, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isaac, Gordon.
Subs: Vlachodimos, Trippier, Barnes, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Willock, Longstaff, Miley
Early team news
With Fraser Forster out sick after catching a bug that’s infilitrated the Tottenham camp, Ange Postecoglou is expected to give 25-year-old goalkeeper Brandon Austin his first senior start in English football after five years at the club and 78 games spent on the bench as an unused substitute. Good luck to him.
A glum Ange revealed yesterday that Destiny Udogie is expected to be out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury and the Spurs full-back joins a long list of lame and halt in the Tottenham treatment room.
The names of Guglielmo Vicario, Mikey Moore, Richarlison, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, Cristian Romero and Wilson Odobert all currently feature on it. Djed Spence is available again but Rodrigo Bentancur misses out today through suspension.
Newcastle are without Fabian Schar, who joins Bentancur on the Naughty Step, while Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth all remain sidelined with injury. Sven Botman is expected to undergo a late fitness test and could make his first appearance for Newcastle since last March after recovering from a serious knee injury.
Premier League: Tottenham v Newcastle
Riding high in fifth place on the back of four consecutive Premier League wins, Newcastle arrive in London as the favourites to make it five on the spin against out-of-sorts hosts who have a lengthy injury list and are without a win in their past three games, two of which have been lost.
Tottenham Hotspur drew with Wolves last time out, while Newcastle’s most recent outing saw them humble Manchester United on their own turf at Old Trafford as they kept their fourth consecutive clean sheet in the top flight. Kick-off in North London is at 12.30pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.