Soccer Newcastle United vs Tottenham, Premier League 2018-19: What time is kick-off, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction?
What is it?
It's Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur in the first Saturday lunchtime kick-off of the 2018-19 Premier League season.
When is it?
It is on Saturday August 11.
What time is kick-off?
A 12.30pm BST kick-off at St James' Park.
What TV channel is it on?
Sky Sports and BT Sport once again share the rights to the Premier League for the upcoming season. You can watch this one, however, on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Ultra HD.
Watch Newcastle vs Tottenham through Now TV with a 10-month Sky Sports Season Ticket for £179
Newcastle United vs Tottenham | How long until kick-off?
What is the team news?
Newcastle United:
Rafa Benitez has new signings Yoshinori Muto and Salomon Rondon to choose from. Florian Lejeune will not play for the foreseeable future after surgery.
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Tottenham Hotspur:
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will assess his World Cup stars ahead of their Premier League opener at Newcastle.
Spurs had nine players in Russia until the final weekend and they only returned to training on Monday, with the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris having differing levels of fitness.
Victor Wanyama (knee) and Erik Lamela (thigh) will miss out with injuries picked up in pre-season.
Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Gazzaniga, Trippier, Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Foyth, Rose, Sanchez, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Sissoko, Alli, Son, Moura, Llorente, Kane.
What are they saying?
Jamaal Lascelles:
"We've managed to sort the off-field stuff; now that's out of the way, we don't have any reason why we can't go out and put on a good performance," he told the club's website.
"I think the last game (against Augsburg), we can definitely take a lot of positives from that - okay, we didn't win but we got everything we need out of the game.
"The majority of the team got through (pre-season) injury free and everyone is really fit."
Transfer activity by club
Mauricio Pochettino:
"What the club is doing is showing it is so brave," he offered. "Building a new training ground, finishing this summer the lodge was a massive investment.
"Building a stadium that is nearly £1bn. That is true, don't believe in £400m, that is the truth. And then with Brexit it is worse because the cost is 30 per cent more, and then keep the best players.
"For me [that] is to be brave. Of course maybe in the mind of everyone they will say, 'Oh Tottenham didn't sign', but to sign for the sake of signing?
"You need to respect all the opinions but of course we are a club that our decision was not to sign, (even though) it is the fashion to sign or because we are the only club in Europe that has not signed players.
"That maybe looks bad because of the perception and because of the history of football, but that is our decision - to keep the best players and to keep the squad. It's a brave decision."
What are the odds?
Newcastle United - 11/4
Tottenham Hotspur - 12/5
Draw - Evens
What's our prediction?
For all the talk of Tottenham not making a signing this summer, it's easy to forget that Mauricio Pochettino has an immensely talented squad. Newcastle will not be an easy place to go, however, and Spurs will need to be quick off the mark to get past Rafa Benitez's men.
Newcastle 1 Tottenham 2
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