Tottenham predicted team vs Newcastle as Thomas Frank makes unpopular decision

The Tottenham Hotspur boss must select the team he believes can get things back on track at Newcastle United on Tuesday night

Thomas Frank needs to get Tottenham winning matches again and the next chance to do so comes with a tough Premier League fixture at Newcastle on Tuesday.

Spurs’ 2-1 defeat at home against Fulham on Saturday night means Frank’s side have won just three of their past 13 matches and they conceded 13 goals in their past four matches alone, with three defeats in a week since the international break. Now they make the trip to a rejuvenated Newcastle side who have won seven of their previous nine matches and have always proved to be a problem for Spurs at St James’ Park.

Frank has captain Cristian Romero back from suspension with Djed Spence also likely to come back into the back four. Xavi Simons has not started the past three matches and it could be time for the £51million summer signing to come back into the fold.

The question is whether Frank plays him in a midfield trio or on the left of a front three. If the 22-year-old Dutchman comes into the centre of the pitch then the Spurs boss could select the experienced defensive duo of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur to provide some steel behind him, even if the fans would rather see the younger Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray or Pape Matar Sarr involved.

Last season’s top scorer Brennan Johnson has also struggled for minutes while Wilson Odobert has not started the past two matches, so one or both could come into the line-up for this midweek match amid the busy run of fixtures.

Here’s the Tottenham that we reckon Frank could select:

(4-3-3) Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha, Xavi; Kudus, Kolo Muani, Johnson.