Tottenham Hotspur Team News: Better Than Expected For Trip To Newcastle

Tottenham Hotspur have a fairly clean bill of health, and Andre Villas-Boas has almost his full team to choose from. Scott Parker is still out injured, as is Gomes, while Luka Modric is in Madrid. Obviously, we're not going to be seeing any of those three players in the 18-man squad on Saturday, but we could see literally anyone else.

This means Gareth Bale, who sustained a minor injury on Wales duty. He said that he thought he was going to be able to play at the weekend, and according to the team website, he's right. It also means that Sandro is going to be able to play, even though he's been away on international duty all summer. Villas-Boas mentioned him specifically today.

"He's had the best of pre-seasons, which is playing time. He had his rest when the season finished and he has been active and playing. He only played for two minutes (for Brazil against Sweden) last night, so you could say he's fresh. We'll assess his level over the next couple of days."

I'm hoping to see Sandro and Jake Livermore in the midfield. I wasn't terribly impressed with Jermaine Jenas or Tom Huddlestone during preseason, I don't think Tom Carroll's first Premier League start should come at St. James' Park, and I liked what we saw out of Sandro and Livermore when they played together last season.