Tottenham will continue their hunt for a top four spot on Sunday afternoon as they face Newcastle United in the Premier League.
An impressive performance saw Spurs beat West Ham United 3-1 in their last Premier League outing before the most recent international break. The win against West Ham followed a convincing 2-0 victory against Brighton, putting Antonio Conte's side fifth in the table.
A win for Spurs against Newcastle on Sunday could potentially see them overtake Arsenal into fourth on goal difference, with the Gunners playing on Monday night. The last meeting between the two sides ended with Spurs winning 3-2 at St. James' Park, and Conte will be hoping for a slightly easier route to victory this time round.
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Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp are all absent for the clash against Newcastle, whilst Ben Davies is expected to be fit after picking up a slight muscle issue on international break. Rodrigo Bentancur is also expected to be fit to start after his involvement with Uruguay during the international break.
So, what line-up will Conte select? And, what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Tottenham vs Newcastle on Sunday and this is what happened...
Tottenham v Newcastle score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control. We then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
We predict that Tottenham could set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
We predict that Eddie Howe's side could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Dubravka; Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett; Willock, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Wood, Saint-Maximin.
The first 10 minutes produced a lively, end to end affair, with Spurs coming close through Heung-Min Son. The South Korean winger was played in-behind the defence by Kane, but his curling effort was directed outside of the far post.
Spurs continued their pressure as the first-half went on, and Kane came close to firing his side ahead when he hit the inside of the post. After receiving the ball outside the box with no supporting options, the striker went for goal himself, and his powerful strike curled onto the post and away from the goal.
Both sides threatened to score in the first half, but neither could find the breakthrough as half time arrived. As both sides came out for the second half, Newcastle introduced Miguel Almiron in place of Jacob Murphy.
The Paraguayan international came close just minutes after his introduction as he surged into box, but his strike was weak and into the palms of Hugo Lloris. The substitute got another opportunity with 30 minutes remaining, and he found the net with a thunderous strike.
Joelinton won back possession on the halfway line and advanced towards the Spurs box before finding Almiron in space. The winger shifted the ball onto his right and powered an effort towards the top corner, flying past Lloris and into the roof of the net.
Chris Wood then came close to doubling the Magpies' lead when he leaped highest to reach Saint-Maximin's cross into the box, but his header was straight at the 'keeper. Newcastle took control after finding the opener and pushed on for a second, but Lloris was in top form to deny Newcastle another.
Spurs had a glorious opportunity to find an equaliser in the final few minutes of the game when Eric Dier rose highest to meet a corner into the box, but his header skimmed the outside of the post, much to the pleasure of the flat-footed Dubravka. Newcastle defended well to hold on to their lead, leaving the capital with all three points.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Spurs 0-1 Newcastle
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that after a frantic first half where both sides threatened to score, Newcastle found the vital goal in the second half to claim three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A win for Newcastle would potentially push them 12 points clear of the drop zone, whilst the defeat could deal a huge blow to Spurs' top four hopes.
What do you think the final score will be in the real game? Let us know in the comments below.
FIFA 22 is the latest game in EA's popular FIFA video game franchise, which was released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021. The game is available now on all platforms including Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
