Charlie Nicholas has picked out Tottenham duo Heung Min-Son and Fernando Llorente for providing the team with a “massive lift” in his prediction for the clash against Newcastle on Saturday.
Llorente netted a last-gasp winner against Watford on Wednesday in order to seal a 2-1 victory for his team and lift them into fourth place, with Min-Son also getting on the scoresheet in his first match since his return from the Asian Cup.
The Sky Sports pundit reckons that Spurs will sneak this match 2-1, but added that Harry Kane and Dele Alli are two players who Spurs are really missing at the moment.
“With Son coming back and Llorente scoring, that was a massive lift for Spurs and they now have a seven-point gap to fourth place. That is significant with the injuries they have had and I fancy Spurs in this one,” he said in his predictions for Sky Sports.
“Spurs came from behind against Watford – they were a bit fortunate to get there, there is a strong personality there, but you can see, they are missing Kane and Alli. Son makes a big difference, but how valuable is that goal going to be for Llorente?”
OPINION
The fact that Min-Son has returned to the time is no doubt a huge lift for Spurs, but the fact that Llorente got on the scoresheet – with an important goal that is – would have done his confidence the world of good. He may not be a like-for-like replacement for Kane, but fans will no doubt have their fingers crossed that this can help him go on a scoring streak in Kane’s absence. The Spaniard has shown the quality in the past, so there is no reason why he cannot do that now. As for Min-Son, Tottenham have missed his presence quite a lot – and the fact he is now back will do them a lot of favours. He was a shining light for the team before his departure for the Asian Cup – he was pretty much involved with most of the goals as well as setting them up – so their top four dreams are very much alive now he is involved once again.