FA Cup Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Newport County
The calm after the storm – that’s what Tottenham will be hoping for in their FA Cup replay against Newport County.
The truth is that this game is something of an inconvenience for the hosts, just three days after the utter madness of that 2-2 draw at Anfield, and another three before the north London derby.
There are, of course, two sides to every story and for Newport, adding an extra fixture to their schedule by securing a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade was nothing short of a dream come true.
Harry Kane spared Spurs’ blushes with an 82nd minute equaliser, a goal that means the League Two outfit will bring over 7,700 fans to the national stadium – more than their record home attendance, which they achieved in May 2017.
Michael Flynn’s men thoroughly deserved a draw and at least judging by the first half, Tottenham can count themselves lucky they escaped South Wales with their name still in the hat. There were few positives for Spurs to take away and not many of their players did themselves justice, apart from young centre-back Juan Foyth who overcame the difficult weather conditions to show composure and poise.
After exerting themselves so well in the original tie, Newport have lost back-to-back games, first going down 3-1 at Lincoln City before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Colchester United. Defender Mark O’Brien has conceded that the prospect of going to Wembley has been a distraction, but it will certainly be interesting to see how he and his team-mates fare on a pitch where Spurs can play their natural game.
A fifth-round meeting with, at the time of writing, either Millwall or Rochdale, awaits the winners.
Team news
Lucas Moura is ineligible as he was not registered before the initial tie on January 27. Aside from that, Mauricio Pochettino has admitted the Brazilian still needs to work on his fitness having been used sparingly by Paris Saint-Germain. Other than that, the Lilywhites boss has effectively a clean bill of health to choose from, though it seems unlikely Toby Alderweireld or Danny Rose will be risked as they continue their recoveries.
Expected line-ups:
Tottenham: Vorm, Aurier, Sanchez, Foyth, Walker-Peters, Wanyama, Winks, Sissoko, Lamela, Llorente, Kane
Newport: Day, Pipe, O’Brien, Demetriou, Butler, Tozer, Bennett, Willmott, Sheehan, Nouble, Amond
Did you know?
Newport County actually went out of business in 1989 before being reformed by a few hundred supporters. They only returned to the Football League in 2013.
Prediction:
Pochettino has promised opportunities to those who need minutes and quite a few of his squad fall into that category. “The FA Cup is important for us, but tomorrow we will rotate because we believe, we trust, in all the players because all the players deserve to compete and to play and then if we win, so happy,” the Argentine told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
This may be one of the biggest games in Newport’s history, but for Spurs, it’s about getting the job done.
The promise of another lower league clash after this will convince Tottenham that they are capable of going all the way in the competition. Tottenham 2-0 Newport
