5 bold Premier League predictions this weekend: Liverpool and Arsenal draw

1. Newcastle hold Tottenham to draw

Newcastle’s season has started how their fans might have thought – with two defeats. There was no shame in an opening day defeat at the hands of Arsenal but last weekend the Magpies were turned over by Premier League new boys, Norwich.

Whether Norwich are an impressive soccer side or not won’t make Newcastle fans more accepting of that defeat. The Toon Army feel aggrieved at the loss of Rafa Benitez as manager and it’s safe to say they’re less than satisfied with Steve Bruce as his replacement.

This weekend could really make or break Bruce for the next few Premier League weekends. As Newcastle or their new manager aren’t new to the Premier League then there’s less room or time for a poor run of results – especially when nobody wants Bruce there in the first place.

A good result away at Tottenham on Sunday could buy Steve Bruce some more time with the Newcastle faithful. That’s a huge ask but it would be quite typical of the Magpies to play up in a match like this after losing to a lesser side.

Their recent matches against Spurs have been close-run with the London club only winning by a matter of one goal. Bruce should be aiming to adopt the system that Benitez was implementing so well at the end of last season in which Newcastle would set out to frustrate teams and hit them on the counter-attack.

Tottenham have a strong side but they can definitely be held as Aston Villa showed in the opening game of the season. Newcastle will know that a draw is a great result and they shouldn’t go chasing anything else as Spurs will pick them apart as soon as any gaps appear at the back.

Newcastle will produce a resolute performance to secure a 0-0 draw and restore some faith into Steve Bruce’s tenure as manager.