At the Vitality Stadium, Newcastle conceded notable first half chances as Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth pressed aggressively.

Tino Livramento, near his own penalty area, was dispossessed for an early Evanilson chance, saved by Nick Pope.

On 36 minutes, Joelinton was ponderous and robbed by Antoine Semenyo, who charged into the penalty area before supplying Marcus Tavernier for the game’s opening goal.

Newcastle improved into the second half, largely down to the introduction of Harvey Barnes.

Playing down the left, he nearly scored swiftly after coming on, before delivering two unbelievably good crosses for chances.

The first, cutting on to his right foot, found Joelinton who saw his header inexplicably kept out by Neto. Barnes’ next delivery was even better, picking out Anthony Gordon at the back post for 1-1.

The former Leicester man started midweek in their rotated Carabao Cup side against Nottingham Forest, so will he be selected ahead of Jacob Murphy on Sunday too?

With Fabian Schär suspended, and Jamal Lascelles and Sven Botman both injured, Newcastle are short in central defence.

It’s no secret they’ve been trying to recruit in that area, despite the addition of Lloyd Kelly.

Against Bournemouth last weekend, and Wednesday’s shoot-out win at Forest, they used Emil Krafth (a right-back) and Dan Burn (a centre-back who has mainly played at left-back) in the middle.

Will they be forced into an improvised solution again? It also leaves open the possibility of a change in shape from their preferred 4-3-3.

In April’s 4-0 win over Spurs at St James’ Park, Eddie Howe went with something closer to 5-4-1/3-4-3 out of possession. When defending, wingbacks Murphy and Elliot Anderson (now at Nottingham Forest) moved infield to follow Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie.

Their pressing, man for man, all over the pitch proved crucial.

Barnes and Gordon shut down Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven respectively when Spurs tried to play out, while Isak was tasked with pressuring Yves Bissouma or Guglielmo Vicario.

Newcastle also hit the ball long in to Spurs territory as soon as they turned it over - a ploy that led to the two Isak goals.

The first was an early lump up-field to Gordon who held off Spurs defenders to slip in Isak (1-0), while the other (for 3-0) was a straight ball over the top for Isak to run on to and score.

Both Isak and Gordon are incredibly quick and will look to take advantage of space vacated by Spurs’ adventurous full-backs and high-line.

Against Everton’s low block, Spurs had James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski both playing in central midfield, something we saw flashes of last season and in pre-season.

The benefits of this more attacking-minded selection bore fruit. The sharp feet of both players kept Spurs in possession moments before Yves Bissouma let rip for 1-0.

Bissouma was the deepest lying midfielder, but will Ange Postecoglou look for more defensive support on Sunday?

Pape Matar Sarr, excellent in transitional games, could be deployed, while a first start for Archie Gray isn’t impossible either.

Newcastle want to control the game in that area too. Bruno Guimaraes is often allowed to dictate play thanks the running of Sean Longstaff and Joelinton alongside him. It’s worth noting Sandro Tonali made his long-awaited return midweek at Forest too.