Tottenham Hotspur hosts Newcastle United in a matchup of two sides that had a very disappointing opening day in the Premier League last weekend, but also looked much better during their midweek League Cup clashes. Spurs got blown out badly by Brentford in the league last Saturday, but then they handed out a similar beating to lower tier Charlton Athletic, in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Meanwhile Newcastle achieved a nice come from behind victory over lower level West Bromwich Albion in midweek, after having been robbed of a couple points (they ended up with a draw while deserving a win) against Liverpool this past Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 5:30 PM, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London UK
Preview Material for Both Sides: Team News Predicted XIs
PL Standing: Tottenham Hotspur 18th, 0 pts, -3 GD Newcastle United 10th, 1 pt 0 GD
Form Guide: Tottenham L Newcastle D
Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 41% Newcastle United 33% Draw 26%
The main storyline here definitely writes itself-
Sandro Tonali, the most expensive player in Tottenham history, faces his former club for the first time since he made that £100m switch during the earlier portion of the summer transfer window. The reverse fixture, when Tonali makes his return to St. James Park, but as part of the opposition for the first time, comes in mid-April.
Also, we should see the Tottenham debut of Savio, who was known as Savinho at Manchester City, and we’ll likely see that debut in the first team.
Predicted Starting XIs
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonin Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson; Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Conor Gallagher; Savio, Mathys Tel; Dominic Solanke.
Newcastle United
Lukás Hornícek, Leo Shahar, Fabian Schär, Malick Thiaw, Lewis Hall; Aladji Bamba, Jacob Ramsey; Jacob Murphy, Joelinton, Bazmouana Toure; Nick Woltemade.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.