Pundit gives his tip for Newcastle v Tottenham.
Two teams fresh off underwhelming transfer windows will face off on Saturday when Newcastle host Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs won the same fixture 2-0 on the opening day last season.
Predicting a 0-0 result, Merson explained: “I feel they’ll find it hard due to the World Cup.
“Spurs just haven’t got their players back. Rafa Benitez will make them hard to beat. Spurs won’t have the goals early on so Newcastle will hold on this year. I’m going for a goalless draw.”
Tottenham have a strong England and Belgium contingent who are all in a race to be passed fit for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, along with France international Hugo Lloris.
Their late involvement at Russia 2018 and subsequent time off has allowed for just one week’s training back at Tottenham and manager Mauricio Pochettino will not want to rush all of his top stars back before they are ready.
Newcastle are another team with a cloud hanging over them after a frustrating transfer window, but unlike Spurs they did manage to add some players, and Rafa Benitez arguably needs the three points even more than Mauricio Pochettino does.
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