EPL: Newcastle v Tottenham preview

Newcastle v Tottenham preview

Tottenham Hotspur will be without injured left-back Danny Rose when they travel to Newcastle United for their season opener

Rose, who has apologised for giving an interview criticising the club's transfer policy on the eve of the new Premier League campaign, is expected to be back in action in September as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.

The two sides met on the final day of the 2015/16 season when, despite having already been relegated to the Championship, Newcastle inflicted a 5-1 thrashing on Mauricio Pochettino's team.

However, the visitors will be looking to get off to a good start at St James' Park after recording their best-ever Premier League finish last time out.

Newcastle, meanwhile, head into the clash with manager Rafael Benitez having vowed to battle through his transfer window frustration to tackle life in the top flight head on.

The Spaniard, who guided the Magpies back into the Premier League by winning the Sky Bet Championship at the first attempt last season, has endured a difficult summer which has seen the club miss out on several of his main transfer targets.

While remaining hopeful of further additions before the end of the month, Benitez reaffirmed his commitment to the club despite his disappointment.

"Obviously, I said how I feel during this summer, but at the same time, I said that my commitment is 100 per cent with this team, this club in terms of trying to win from the first game until the last one," he said in his pre-match press conference.

"My ambition is to do well in every single game to get three points and see where we are in the table.

"I am not saying I am really pleased with everything because it's not true, but I am not saying that I will not do my best to be as high as possible in the table."

US right-back DeAndre Yedlin will miss Spurs' visit with a hamstring problem picked up in pre-season.

Striker Dwight Gayle is fit after his own hamstring injury and Benitez otherwise has only a series of minor knocks to contend with, including to several of his summer recruits such as Florian Lejeune, Javier Manquillo, Mikel Merino, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy.

Erik Lamela (hips), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (foot), Rose (knee) and Kieran Trippier (ankle) are all missing for Spurs.