Premier League preview: Newcastle v Tottenham

André Villas-Boas

André Villas-Boas rarely sported a smile during his ill-fated Chelsea tenure, but the Portuguese had no reason to feel downbeat on his previous visit to the home of Newcastle United.

A 3-0 victory at the Sports Direct Arena alleviated the pressure on Villas-Boas’ shoulders – temporarily, at least – before his inevitable sacking two months later in February of this year.

Few expected to see the beleaguered coach, who had previously led Porto to a historic quadruple and established his reputation as the most promising young manager in world football, back in the dugout so soon after his Chelsea ordeal.

More surprisingly still was that he returned to the Premier League with another London-based club whose expectations, though not quite on par, aren’t much lower than the Blues’.

Clearly, the 34-year-old is not one to shy away from a challenge, or a chance to prove a point.

And Newcastle, who exceeded all expectations last season, are first up against a rejigged Tottenham side under the leadership of the Premier League coach perhaps more desperate than most to succeed.

Villas-Boas admitted on arrival at White Hart Lane that lessons had been learnt from his Chelsea experience, and obviously did enough to convince Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy of as much when the duo held their first meeting following the dismissal of former manager Harry Redknapp.

But, with Levy targeting a return to the Champions League this season, Villas-Boas will have limited time to prove that’s the case.

Naturally, the new coach will be deeply disappointed to be losing the services of Luka Modrić, a player he was determined to bring to Stamford Bridge this time last year.

More concerning, however, is that Tottenham are yet to recruit a replacement for the Croatia international who is poised to join José Mourinho at Real Madrid.

A host of midfielders have been linked, but none of them will be in place for Spurs’ trip to the north-east, where Newcastle will be hoping to take advantage of the fact their opponents’ chief orchestrator has departed for the Spanish capital.

Meanwhile, Magpies boss Alan Pardew bolstered his midfield options with the acquisition of £6.7million Ajax enforcer Vurnon Anita on Thursday, and the 23-year-old could make his debut this weekend if either Cheick Tiote or Yohan Cabaye are deemed unfit to play.

Pardew will hope that both players recover from a calf strain and fatigue, respectively, for the clash against the north Londoners after blaming injuries for the club’s humiliating 4-1 pre-season friendly defeat against Championship side Cardiff City last Saturday.

However central defender Steven Taylor, back in action after recovering from a serious Achilles injury which has kept him out since December, was part of that team soundly beaten by the Bluebirds.

“We’re very disappointed – we’re gutted with the result,” Taylor told the Shields Gazette. “We feel we let the fans down a little bit, but we’ve learnt a valuable lesson.

“It was a lesson we needed to learn. The main thing is to move on to Tottenham.”

The mood in the Spurs’ camp promises to be a little more positive, despite the loss of Modrić.

There were some encouraging results during pre-season, while the players’ minds will also wander back to February, when they thumped Newcastle 5-0 at White Hart Lane.

It’s little wonder, then, that the likes of right-back Kyle Walker are gunning for maximum points this weekend.

“To go to Newcastle is always going to be tough but I feel the additions have made the squad stronger, a new gaffer coming in has put his mark on the team and the way we’re playing, I think we’re going to do well next season,” the 22-year-old, who played for England on Wednesday, said. “If you asked me now if I wanted a draw, I’d probably say ‘no, I want to win’.

“It’s good there’s a positive feeling around the camp and hopefully we’ll go there, get the win and make everyone happy.”

No-one will be more pleased than Villas-Boas and Levy if Tottenham begin life post-Redknapp/Modrić with a confidence-boosting win against a good set of opponents.

But until Spurs bring in a new top-class midfielder, we may not see them at their free-flowing best, meaning that a draw this weekend will have to suffice for AVB and co.

Prediction: Newcastle 1 Tottenham 1

Rob Swan - follow me on Twitter

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