90min
·21 May 2024
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Yahoo sports90min
·21 May 2024
Premier League rivals Tottenham and Newcastle collide in a post-season friendly on Wednesday with the iconic MCG playing host.
The 2023/24 campaign should've drawn to a close for both of these sides at the weekend as they concluded their respective league seasons with wins on the road.
Victory at Sheffield United ensured Tottenham finished fifth to secure a place in the 2024/25 Europa League, while Newcastle's 4-2 win at Brentford meant they finished six points behind Spurs in seventh.
Ange Postecoglou is returning to his homeland for this friendly, and he'll certainly want to oversee a vastly improved performance from the beatdown Tottenham succumbed to on Tyneside in April.
The decision to play this fixture just days after the season has concluded ahead of a summer festival of major international tournaments has garnered plenty of criticism amid growing concerns over player burnout. After Wednesday's friendly, Newcastle take on the A-League All Stars on Friday before returning home.
Here's 90min's preview of this post-season friendly.
Cristian Romero hasn't travelled to Australia / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Cristian Romero has been left out of the travelling squad for personal reasons, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who's carrying a knock, also won't feature in Melbourne. Giovani Lo Celso also hasn't travelled.
Spurs' injury list built up towards the end of the season, with Destiny Udogie, Richarlison, Ben Davies, Timo Werner, Yves Bissouma, Fraser Forster, Ryan Sessegnon, and Manor Solomon all sidelined.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Phillips, Dragusin, Van de Ven; Bentancur, Sarr, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson.
Anthony Gordon missed Newcastle's final day win / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
Howe named a 29-player squad for Newcastle's two fixtures Down Under, with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak making the trip.
However, a litany of injured Magpie stars have been left at home. Thus, for Wednesday's game, Newcastle will be without Anthony Gordon, who's recently picked up an ankle injury.
Gordon joins Jamaal Lascelles, Joe Willock, Sven Botman, Tino Livramento, Lewis Miley and Matt Targett on the sidelines.
Newcastle predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Krafth, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Anderson, Joelinton; Almiron, Wilson, Barnes.
Newcastle battered Tottenham in their recent head-to-head duel, but we shouldn't read too much into that 4-0 thumping when discussing this friendly.
Neither team is going to be particularly up for this, and we should expect a low-intensity affair in which supporters will merely hope to see some youngsters earn a few minutes. The result really doesn't matter here.
With both players missing key players, we'll give the Aussie the edge in his homeland.
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