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Crucial. Spurs needed a win as they faced an Everton side right next to them on the table on Sunday. Tottenham came through, taking a massive 1-0 home victory that has the team right back in the thick of the hunt for Champions League places. Spurs now sit in fifth, just three points behind Liverpool. Emmanuel Adebayor has been playing like a man possessed, scoring some astounding efforts to help solve the Tottenham striker crisis.
Today's challenge will come in traveling up to the Northeast to face Newcastle United. The Magpies are one of the rare midtable teams this season sitting ninth in the table, far away from relegation and Champions League. However, Newcastle has been in terrible form of late, losing two consecutive matches 3-0 and scoreless in their last three. The key has seemed to have been the departure of star midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who left for PSG at the end of the January transfer window. The likes of Moussa Sissoko and Vurnon Anita have yet to match Cabaye's value in the center of the pitch. Star striker Loic Remy is still suspended, so the attacking onus may fall on Luuk de Jong.
As for the Prediction League, Sleep has taken the league lead on the back of strong predicting favorite. The rules remain the same in the Prediction League--one point for a correct prediction and a bonus point for getting the score correct. Here are the current standings:
| Name | Score |
| The Sleeper's Sleep | 19 |
| Mechanick | 18 |
| Michael Caley | 17 |
| Petrilli | 17 |
| Lennon's Eyebrow | 17 |
| Ed | 16 |
| Uncle Menno | 15 |
| Skipjack | 14 |
| Ryan | 14 |
| Kevin | 14 |
| Ashlock | 13 |
| The Roosevelts |
10 |
This week's predictions:
Ed: Newcastle are really not good in the absence of Cabaye and Tiote, and Alan Pardew has never been particularly great at rapidly adjusting to personnel problems. I will be disappointed with anything less than a 2-0 victory for Spurs.
Uncle Menno: How do you say "Newcastle isn't very good" in Geordie? 1-0 Spurs.
Kevin: Selling Cabaye right when Tiote got suspended was a disaster. 3-0 Spurs, anything less than a thrashing is a huge disappointment.
Mechanick: This seems to easy. Townsend sneaks in the winner, late on. 1-0 Spurs
Ryan: I have this theory, that if you cut off all her hair she'd look like a British man. 2-1 Spurs.
Ashlock: Newcastle are bad. 2-0 Spurs.
The Roosevelts: I'm pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means "friendship". 2-0 Spurs
Lennon's Eyebrow: We may not be great, but we are at least as good as Sunderland. 3-0 Spurs.
Petrilli: 2-1 Spurs. We come out wearing the same pants Norway does for Curling.
Michael Caley: Newcastle's shot numbers vs Sunderland and Chelsea were perfectly respectable, they mostly just struggled with finishing. This one feels bad on many levels. I have a 0.5% difference in chances of winning. It may be time to break out the draw prediction for the first time all year. 1-1 Draw.
The Sleeper's Sleep: Go ahead & type "Alan Pardew" into an online anagram generator. The results are DELIGHTFUL. 3-1 Spurs.
Skipjack: Wi will aal gan oot fre pints affta Spurs come oot on top two te nil. 2-0 Spurs
