We’ve delved into all of the stats using the Squawka Comparison Matrix to pick out a combined Newcastle and Tottenham XI ahead of the Premier League clash between the two teams on Tuesday night.
Check the stats and see our eventual combined XI below. The players we’ve chosen to compare are a combination of the team’s most used XI so far this season and a predicted lineup for the match itself.
Goalkeeper: Pope vs Vicario
Unsurprisingly given the reputation of both of these goalkeepers, Vicario ranks better than Pope in the passing department, completing more than twice as many passes per 90 minutes as Pope at a 74.3% accuracy. However, when it comes to keeping the ball out of the net, Pope reigns supreme – he has more clean sheets, averages more saves per game and has conceded fewer goals so far this season.
Pope did miss out on the Magpies’ win at Everton on Saturday evening and may not be fit enough to replace Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks on Tuesday night, but with the former Arsenal stopper having only featured once for Newcastle so far there wasn’t enough available data for us to compare him to the Spurs man.
Winner: Nick Pope
Right Back: Livramento vs Porro
Former Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier is set to miss out on this match on Tuesday through injury and although his replacement Tino Livramento ranks well for take-ons completed and ball recoveries, his opposite number Pedro Porro comes out on top in most of our chosen full-back metrics.
Porro creates 1.5 chances per 90 to Livramento’s 0.6 and attempts 8.1 crosses a game – more than four times as many as Livramento. The Spanish international has also completed more clearances and more interceptions per 90 minutes of these two players.
Winner: Pedro Porro
Centre Back: Botman vs Thiaw vs Van de Ven vs Romero
Sven Botman’s 6.3 clearances per game is an impressive total and points to some important rearguard displays for the Magpies so far this season. He also comes out on top within these four defenders for ball recoveries and interestingly forward passes, despite not being especially known for his ball-playing abilities.
Malick Thiaw may come out of top for aerial duel success rate, but his Spurs counterpart Cristian Romero leads the way for tackles made, ground duels won, ground duel success percentage and interceptions, beating his team-mate Micky van de Ven on every measure expect for passing accuracy.
Winners: Sven Botman & Cristian Romero
Left Back: Burn vs Spence
As a centre-back turned left-back, it’s unsurprising to see Dan Burn come out on top in terms of both clearances and interceptions when it comes to his match up with Tottenham left-back Djed Spence – who may return to the starting eleven on Tuesday night after being rested during the defeat to Fulham on Saturday evening.
The two players are level for chances created, but Spence pulls ahead with better stats for crosses attempted, tackles made, take-ons completed, ground duels won, ground duel success percentage and (albeit narrowly) ball recoveries.
Winner: Djed Spence
Defensive Midfielder: Tonali vs Palhinha
Although not exactly a defensive midfielder, Tonali tends to sit slightly deeper than midfield teammates like Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Miley and Joelinton so we’ve matched him up against Tottenham’s Joao Palhinha for the purposes of this combined eleven – but it’s the Spurs man who narrowly comes out on top.
The ex-Fulham midfielder is more of a ball-winner than Tonali, as the stats show. He ranks higher for tackles made and duels won, whereas the Italian comes out on top when it comes to stats in possession, with a better passing accuracy and more forward passes per 90 minutes. In another match-up, Tonali’s ball-playing stats would perhaps bring him out on top.
Winner: Joao Palhinha
Central Midfielders: Joelinton vs Guimaraes vs Bentancur vs Sarr
This particular comparison makes disappointing reading for Tottenham midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, who doesn’t come out on top in any of the nine metrics we’ve used to compare central midfielders – although his teammate Rodrigo Bentancur does at least rank top of the pile within this four for take-ons completed, ball recoveries and ground duel success rate.
Bruno Guimaraes is the pick of the four altogether though. He averages 5.7 duels won, 2.2 tackles made and 1.3 chances created per 90 minutes, with none of the other three players even managing to average one in that final stat.
Winners: Bruno Guimaraes & Rodrigo Bentancur
Right Winger: Murphy vs Kudus
There’s not much to choose from between Jacob Murphy and Mohammed Kudus as both players rank well for different things. Although Murphy has scored more goals and averaged twice as many shots on target, Kudus comes out on top comfortably for assists and take-ons completed.
However, it’s just how many attempted take-ons that Kudus is trying every game that lets him down as he’s also been tackled on average 6.2 times per game compared to Murphy’s two and that brings his take-on success rate down considerably as well, leaving the Newcastle winger coming out on top.
Winner: Jacob Murphy
Left Winger: Barnes vs Odobert
Newcastle have the wing positions locked down in this combined eleven, with Harvey Barnes also coming out on top over Tottenham youngster Wilson Odobert, thanks in no small part to the former Leicester man’s superior shots on target, fouls won and time tackled stats, while he also comes out on top for goals with Odobert yet to score this season.
The former Burnley man does have one assist to his name while Barnes is yet to chalk up an assist this season and his dribbling stats are also better with 2.5 take-ons completed per game at a success rate of 54.17 but overall, Barnes has the edge in this race.
Winner: Harvey Barnes
Striker: Woltemade vs Richarlison
This one may come as a bit of a shock, but Richarlison’s early season form just about edges him into the team over Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade, despite the two players sharing the exact same per 90 numbers for goals, shots on target and fouls won so far this season.
Where the Brazilian pulls ahead is with shots, touches in the opposition box and crucially chances created – the latter leading to him managing two assists to Woltemade’s zero. The German does have a better conversion rate at 35.71% and has completed more take-ons than his counterpart but that’s not enough to get him in this Comparison Matrix Combined Xi.
Winner: Richarlison
