Maybe teetering on the threshold of entering full crisis management, a struggling Tottenham Hotspur start the new year and the 2025 season at home against Newcastle United in the Saturday’s early kickoff of the English Premier League.
Ole’s team could only draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final round of the 2024 season, while an unfriendly Magpies overwhelming defeated a struggling Manchester United.
Some time in mid-December last year the Greek-Australian was flying high with more points accrued in the first ten Premier League games than any other manager, but here today the chair ，as the North London crop ended 2024 with a mere three wins out of the remaining 13 matches of the year.
Since the 14-0 decimation of Southampton in mid December, Spurs have managed only one point out of a possible nine from fixtures with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the latter of whom equalised a 2-2 scoreline on the 29th of December with a Jorgen Strand Larsen goal.
Although, they earnt a place within two points of Champions League yesterday, Spurs are considered long-shots to even make the top 32 of the Conference League this time around: Spurs are now sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and mathematically closer to the drop zone than they are the Champions League places.
Exacerbating this forward line issue, defeat on Saturday is not expected to ignite calls for Postecoglou’s removal, but should this season’s EFL Cup semi-final thwart Liverpool, which would severely hamper the Australian’s chances of securing his seasonal trophy prediction, there is reason to believe that Daniel Levy may start to give this proposition rather more thought.
Before the first leg clash with the Reds next Wednesday, Postecoglou tries to spare Spurs their dire run of five consecutive games without a victory at home in the English top flight since 1994.
Only a few years ago, Spurs competed for a berth in Europe's elite table while Newcastle languished in the bottom ten, but the roles have now been turned, and Eddie Howe's team is really threatening to upset the top-four apple cart thanks to a fantastic run of festive form.
Newcastle United, one of only two clubs to have won each of their last four Premier League matches (together with surprise package Nottingham Forest), followed up victories against Leicester City, Aston Villa, and Ipswich Town with the most effortless win they may ever achieve at Old Trafford.
Given that Fabian Schar received his fifth yellow card of the season during the victory at Old Trafford and will also be sitting on the naughty step on Saturday, Postecoglou and Howe can sympathize with one other over losing important players to suspension.
Along with Emil Krafth (shoulder), Nick Pope (knee), and Jamaal Lascelles (knee), Schar will be one of the Magpies' at least four defensive absences. However, longtime absence Sven Botman (knee) has been playing behind closed doors once more and may make his much-awaited return here.
Callum Wilson is still a few weeks away from making a comeback from a hamstring injury, and Trippier should give up his spot to Tino Livramento after appearing to injure it during the victory over Manchester United.
