'They are flying': Paul Merson now predicts who will win on Saturday - Tottenham Hotspur or Newcastle United

Newcastle United's first match of 2025 is an away game down in the Capital as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the 12:30pm kick-off live on TNT Sports on Saturday.

Tottenham are very hit and miss and Ange Postecoglou is starting to feel the pressure, whereas Newcastle are absolutely flying right now.

December was Newcastle's month as evidenced by the sheer number of nominations in the monthly awards categories.

Form isn't the be-all and end-all, obviously, but it does play a big part in the psychology before the game starts and Newcastle will feel they have the upper hand here.

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Paul Merson is backing an easy win for Newcastle against Tottenham

Paul Merson is going with the form guide with his score prediction for Sportskeeda and sees Newcastle bagging the three points in this one.

"With the way both teams are playing, I have to go with a Newcastle win here. I know Manchester United aren't great, but I thought Newcastle were brilliant in that 2-0 win. They are flying at the moment and I don't expect this game to be any different.

"When you look at Tottenham, they are still in the running to win a trophy. I know that some sort of silverware will be a huge relief for their fans. However, they look a million miles away from finishing in the top four and that's a problem. They are 11 points behind Chelsea and all the six teams, including Newcastle, between them and the Blues have all looked better!

"The Spurs fans will not have complaints with the football they're watching under Ange Postecoglou though. They wouldn't want to go back to the old days under Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho because this is at least positive football. And when you play this kind of expansive football, it really is difficult to keep it tight at the back. If I had to pick one team to watch purely for the sake of entertainment in the Premier League, that would be Spurs - no doubt.

"Newcastle have hit good form at the right moment. If they end up strengthening the squad in January, they can push Chelsea and Nottingham Forest to the end for third spot. But whether they dip into the market or not depends on Financial Fair Play (FFP) of course.

"It will be interesting to see if they receive an offer for Alexander Isak too. If I was Arsenal, I wouldn't think twice and put in a massive bid to sign him in January. Isak is a real handful and is in terrific form. Even if Arsenal don't win the league this season, they will definitely win it next season, if they have him in their line-up!

"Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Newcastle United"

Paul Merson in linking Alexander Isak to Arsenal shock

Ideally, we'd obviously love to keep our run of clean sheets going, but if we do come away with a 1-3 win, I don't think any of us will complain too much.

Paul Merson just can't help himself lately, can he? Any opportunity he gets to link Alexander Isak to Arsenal, he will take it. It's not happening, mate. Let it go.

Cheers for the positive score prediction though, mate.