Premier League preview and odds: Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Published on: 12/05/2016

Premier League preview and odds: Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur

May 15 , 2016 15:00pm - St. James` Park

Premier League

Hosts Newcastle United may be down and out but visitors Tottenham Hotspur will be fighting to protect their second place status in the league when the teams meet at St. James` Park on Sunday.

Too little too late for Benitez

Newcastle`s hopes of pulling of a final day escape were evaporated by Sunderland`s 3-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday night. With survival now mathematically impossible, the northeast club must now prepare for life in the Championship.

Despite some improvement under Spanish boss Rafa Benitez, it was not enough to see off the challenge of their local rivals. Whether the former Real Madrid boss will still be in charge next season remains unclear but he has already gained plenty of admirers amongst the Toon faithful.

The Magpies are unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches but played out a disappointing 1-1 draw away to bottom club Aston Villa in their last match.

Spurs out to finish above Arsenal

After missing out on the league title, Tottenham Hotspur will want to avoid further disappointment by ensuring that they finish above their North London rivals Arsenal.

The Gunners are just two points adrift of Spurs heading into the final round of matches. A draw will be enough for Mauricio Pochettino`s men to claim second place thanks to their superior goal record.

The club will be buoyed by the fact that their popular Argentinean boss has just penned a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2021. They come into this game winless in three, on the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton.

Team news

Massadio Haidara, Tim Krul and Rob Elliott are out of action for the Geordies, while Fabricio Coloccini remains a slight doubt.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be without the injured trio of Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld and Nabil Bentaleb.

Recent form (League)

Newcastle United: DWDDW

Tottenham Hotspur: LDDWW

Betting odds and tips

Newcastle have lost just one of their last eight at home, having won four and drawn the other three, while Spur have lost just one of their last 17 league games on the road.

You can back the Draw at 11/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 12/05/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (12/05/2016 16:09:46) but are subject to change.