Tottenham Hotspur-Newcastle United Preview

Two out-of-form sides will go head-to-head Sunday when Newcastle United welcome Tottenham Hotspur to St James' Park.

John Carver's Newcastle (9-8-15) have lost five on the bounce in a dismal run of performances, while visitors Spurs (16-6-10) have won just one of their last four to end any realistic hopes of challenging for fourth and the final Champions League spot.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Sunday's game will be the attendance figure, with Newcastle fans expected to boycott the game in large numbers as a protest about how the club is being run by owner Mike Ashley.

Carver has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism from the disenchanted St James' Park faithful in recent weeks, with the inexperienced manager admittedly looking out of his depth. The Magpies have scored just one goal in their last five games and have picked up just nine points from 13 matches since Carver succeeded Alan Pardew at the start of the year.

The Barcodes have lost back-to-back games at St James' Park, won just once at the ground in 2015 and kept just a single clean sheet in their last nine at home. However, Carver is still looking forward to welcoming Spurs to Tyneside.

"Whenever you come up against Spurs it's a great game," Carver said. "Even this season at White Hart Lane was a good one, we were 1-0 down and Sammy Ameobi and Ayoze (Perez) got a great header to win it. They are always good football matches. The ball is always on the ground and both teams usually pass it. Hopefully it can be the same and we get the three points.

"A win changes everybody's feelings. Us as a group of people get confidence from it. You can get booed off at half-time and then get a standing ovation by the end - that can only happen here."

Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham have struggled since the recent international break, drawing 0-0 with Burnley before being overturned 1-0 by former manager Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa last weekend.

With Hugo Lloris missing due to a knee injury, star of the season Harry Kane has captained Spurs in both of those matches. This week, Kane received the news he is on the shortlist for both the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.

"I'm delighted to be nominated for both awards; to have that appreciation from fellow players is a huge honour and it shows you are doing the right things," said the 21-year-old. "It's been a hectic, crazy season with a lot of highs and this is another special moment.

"The last couple of games have been disappointing," Kane admitted. "We've not produced the performances that we've been looking for, but there are plenty of games left - starting at Newcastle on Sunday."

Kane will likely lead the attack again for Tottenham at Newcastle, but may have to relinquish the captain's armband as both Lloris and vice-captain Jan Vertonghen are expected to return to the side after injury and illness, respectively. Full-back Kyle Walker remains out for Spurs with a knee injury.

Newcastle have a number of long-term injury worries, with Jak Alnwick, Massadio Haidara, Paul Dummett, Siem de Jong, Cheick Tiote and Steven Taylor all out.

It has been honours even between these sides in recent seasons, with three wins apiece in all competitions. However, all three of Spurs' wins have been by 4-0 scorelines, including in this season's League Cup quarterfinals when Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado and Kane all scored for the eventual finalists.