Saudi era begins at Newcastle with Spurs visit

Newcastle United begin their new era under Saudi ownership when they face Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park with Steve Bruce set for his 1,000th game as a manager and possibly his last with the club in northeast England.

Last week, to the delight of their fans, Newcastle was sold to a consortium dominated by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund alongside minority partners PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media.

While human rights groups such as Amnesty International have condemned the Saudi takeover, Newcastle supporters are chuffed to see former owner Mike Ashley sell his stake in the club and have relished the promises of “heavy” investment in new players.

Many fans would also like to see the back of Bruce, who despite hailing from the region and managing to keep the club in the top flight, has been unpopular in the stands. Media reports and bookmakers are already speculating on his successor, but after a meeting with the new board, Bruce is set to remain in his position.

Sunday’s game is likely to see further celebrations from Newcastle fans, but could be an awkward occasion for Bruce if he remains in charge of the team which are next to bottom of the Premier League.

Newcastle’s goal is to break into the elite of English football, a status Tottenham have enjoyed in recent seasons but are struggling to maintain.

Spurs appeared to be cementing themselves in the top echelon after four straight seasons of top-four finishes, including in 2019 when they reached the Champions League final.

But the past two seasons have seen the club end sixth and then seventh and a mixed start under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo has brought Spurs to eighth place going into Sunday’s game.

Chelsea are the early leaders after seven games but face a tricky test on Saturday at promoted Brentford, who have impressed with wins over Arsenal and West Ham United and a draw with Liverpool.

Manchester United begin a series of tricky games after the disappointment of a defeat to Aston Villa and a draw with Everton, with a visit to Leicester City on Saturday.

Liverpool kick off the weekend at Watford on Saturday at lunchtime with defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and forward Diogo Jota expected to be available, manager Jurgen Klopp said. Alexander-Arnold missed Liverpool’s Champions League win over Porto and the draw with Manchester City due to a muscle issue, while Jota sat out Portugal’s matches last week due to an injury.

Midfielder Thiago Alcantara is recovering from a calf injury and Klopp said the player is likely to miss the trip to Watford.

“So it looks really like Trent and Diogo will be fine. They trained with us on Thursday and everything was completely normal,” Klopp said.

“Thiago needs probably a little bit longer, [he] was not in team training yet.”

Also on Saturday Manchester City will expect to gain three points at home to winless Burnley.