Such is the intensity of Premier League football - and the busy fixture schedule - almost an entire matchday squad worth of players could miss Tottenham vs Newcastle. The two teams kick off this weekend's Premier League action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the visitors as huge favourites.

Eddie Howe's side are in top form, having won their last five games in all competitions by an aggregate score of 16-1. Spurs, meanwhile, have secured victory in just two of their last 10 matches with injuries hitting Ange Postecoglou and his squad hard.

The Tottenham boss has very rarely had his favoured starting XI all available at the same time with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero currently the two big absentees. Both of his first-choice centre-backs being unavailable has caused huge problems, especially with Ben Davies having also missed the last four weeks.

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It also looks as though the Lilywhites will have to get through at least another six games without three key defenders. "Ben [Davies], Micky [van de Ven] and [Cristian] Romero around the same time, they're all slated to return at the back end of January," Postecoglou admitted in a press conference.

A hamstring injury has seen Destiny Udogie become the latest defender to be ruled out for a period - with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also unlikely to return over the coming weeks after suffering a fractured foot against Manchester City back in November.

Further up the pitch, despite only just returning from a seven-game ban, Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended having picked up his fifth Premier League yellow card last weekend. Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Mikey Moore are the attackers currently missing, but Postecoglou is hopeful the latter duo can return soon.

"At this stage, Richy and Mikey will be the next two off the rank, hopefully next week at some point," he went on. While those are the expected absentees, a further four Tottenham stars could miss out after Postecoglou revealed an illness bug had swept through the squad this week.

The rumours on social media suggest that Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, Fraser Forster and James Maddison were all impacted enough to miss training in the lead up to facing Newcastle, but it is unclear which of those, if any, will be unable to play.

As for Newcastle, similarly to Spurs, the majority of their injury concerns are in defence. Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth both had to have surgery last year and though returns are expected in early 2025, either being fit enough to face Tottenham is highly unlikely.

Sven Botman was another to go under the knife in recent months, but the Dutchman is seemingly in line to return very soon, having declared himself available with Howe also issuing a positive update. "I always said with Sven he'd be in and around the Christmas games," he admitted in a press conference.

"He's worked incredibly hard to get himself in a good condition. He's in and around my thoughts. If Sven is in the squad, then it's because he's ready." Elsewhere, two first-team regulars in Callum Wilson and Nick Pope are likely to miss out with hamstring and knee issues, respectively, though the latter is much closer to a return.

Finally, similarly to Bentancur, Fabian Schar is suspended for the fixture owing to an accumulation of yellow cards with former Spurs transfer target Lloyd Kelly expected to come in if Botman is not risked from the start.