Tottenham vs. Newcastle Predictions: Chances and cards in the day's late kick-off

Super Sunday’s London double is rounded off in the North of the capital, as Tottenham Hotspur welcome Newcastle United to N17 - live on Sky Sports Main Event.

It’s fair to say the international break probably came at the wrong time for the hosts, who are ranked 3rd in the form table over their last five games.

With four wins from those games they’ve established themselves as the most likely challengers to their North London rivals’ 4th position in the division, and they’ve done so in style too. Back-to-back wins by 4+ goals against Leeds and Everton saw them rebound from a depressing February before they put a poor defeat at Manchester United behind them with wins against Brighton and West Ham. Their return to form has, unsurprisingly, coincided with the good form of talisman Harry Kane - who moved joint 2nd of the all-time England top scorer list with the winner from the spot against Switzerland.

His five goals and three assists in that aforementioned five-game run leads the team, with Heung min-Son chipping in with four goals of his own too.

While the international break came at a bad time for Spurs, it arguably came at a decent time for Eddie Howe’s side.

After a run of eight games without defeat since Christmas, the Magpies lost their way towards the end of March - suffering consecutive 1-0 away defeats to Chelsea and Everton.

The nature of the defeats is what will have hurt most, particularly in the game at Goodison Park, so the break will have been a good time for Howe to reflect. They played the back-end of that game against 10-man Everton as if the win was being handed to them, and were shell-shocked by Alex Iwobi’s 99TH MINUTE winner. The Geordies were lazy in that game and it wasn’t indicative of their recent performances, especially when being unfortunate to lose on their last visit to London. Kai Havertz sumptuous touch and finish after 89 minutes was enough to give Thomas Tuchel’s side all three points in a game the away side certainly deserved a result in.

One of Newcastle’s January acquisitions, Dan Burn returned to his boyhood club when they were stuck in the relegation zone and has been integral to their transformation.

One point from safety when Burn played his last game for Brighton, the Magpies are now nine points clear of the drop zone and setting their sights on a top half finish.

He’s been a key cog in the overhaul of Eddie Howe’s defence and it’s shown in the key metrics. They’ve gone from conceding 1.88 expected goals against per game to just 1.00 since Burn’s debut. They conceded 44 goals in the 22 games before he joined, compared to just five in seven since then.

He’s no stranger to cards though, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him pick another up here.

The defender has four in his last nine starts for Newcastle and Brighton and it could have been more given he has committed four fouls in his last two games without punishment.

He’s also got history against Spurs, picking up three yellows in four appearances against them for his previous club - including both of his visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

On the opposite side is Cristian Romero, a man who has made himself very familiar with the referees of the Premier League this season.

The Argentine centre-back has picked up an astronomical eight bookings in just 15 league starts this term, and might find himself in trouble once again here. He’s picked up 10 yellows (and a second yellow red) in his last 18 starts for club and country, and could have to deal with the eccentric Allan Saint-Maximin on Newcastle’s left-wing.

The tricky winger draws 2.56 fouls per game, including ELEVEN in his last two starts, and could find himself running at Romero with the ball at his feet and it’s not out of the Argentine’s remit to bring him down.