Tottenham Hotspur vs. Newcastle Stats Preview
Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe (L) shoots past Newcastle United's Cheik Tiote during their English Premier League soccer match in Newcastle, northern England October 16, 2011 Reuters

This weekend, make no mistake, is all about 'Arry Redknapp. The pop-eyed boss of the Spurs is being hotly touted as the next manager of the English national team, by everybody from David Bernstein in the FA to the Manchester United players and Sir Alex himself. Amidst all the brouhaha, however, is the undeniable fact that the Spurs, in more ways than one, are probably playing the best football in the league (barring Aguero and Silva's City, of course).

Newcastle... it wasn't that long ago we watched the Magpies sink loudly and noisily into the Championship. At that time, no matter how big the club may be and how proud its fans, no one would have been surprised if they'd gotten lost in the murky depths of second division football for some time. It is to their credit, then, that they've fought back... and fought back with style and guts. By far the most surprising team, in terms of results, the black-and-whites, led by a monster of a striker in Demba Ba.

Facts

TOTTENHAM

NEWCASTLE

Games Played2424
Won1512
Drawn56
Lost46
Goal difference195
Points5042
Last Five MatchesW D L W D L W L W W
Premier League Position35
Top scorersEmmanuel Adebayor, Gareth Bale - 9Demba Ba - 16
Last Encounter between the two sides.2 (Demba Ba, Shola Ameobi)2 (R. van der Vaart, Jermain Defoe)
Players unavailable for this matchHuddlestone, Van der Vaart, Gallas, Nelsen (all injured); Kaboul (doubtful)S. Taylor, Best, Marveaux, R. Taylor, Ameobi, Ranger (all injured)