As things stand, Tottenham Hotspur sit third in the Premier League level on points with Manchester City, but there’s an ominous feeling that things are about to go south in north London.
Indeed, Spurs haven’t been playing well for quite some time now, and it seems as though their poor performances are finally coming to bite them on the backside with two losses in their last four games.
Their attack has been toothless, the midfield has lacked bite, and while the defence is solid enough, they’ve stepped off the gas a little bit in recent weeks.
Spurs host Newcastle on Sunday, and this is bound to be an incredibly difficult game, but a win here could well give Spurs the momentum they need to kick on and reignite their season.
With that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting Antonio Conte’s starting XI for this game.
We think that the Italian may opt to make three changes from the team that lost to Manchester United in midweek.
Emerson Royal’s suspension period is over, so we expect him to come straight back into the side after a rather unimpressive turn from Matt Doherty at Old Trafford.
The back three remains the same despite conceding twice to United in midweek, while Ryan Sessegnon comes in for Ivan Perisic down the left.
With Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski still sidelined, Conte sticks to his 5-3-2 formation here, but there is a change in the midfield.
Conte was less than impressed by Rodrigo Bentancur at Old Trafford, reportedly swearing at the Uruguayan from the sideline after a string of poor passes, and after a rather turgid display against the Red Devils, we think Oliver Skipp will come in for Bentancur.
There are no prizes for guessing who starts up top as Harry Kane once again starts alongside Heung-Min Son.
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