Taylor: Out with a thigh injury

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Tottenham v Newcastle

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will be without striker Leon Best and defender Ryan Taylor for his side’s trip to Tottenham on Sunday.

Taylor picked up an ankle injury against Aston Villa last time out and while the knock is not serious, he is out of contention for the trip to White Hart Lane.

The news on Best is not as positive, with the striker suffering medial ligament damage against Villa which could sideline him for the remainder of the season.

The Magpies are already without Cheick Tiote, who is on international duty and the suspended Yohan Cabaye. Steven Taylor (Achilles), Sylvain Marveaux (groin) and Sammy Ameobi (knee) are long-term injury absentees.

The clash is a key one for Harry Redknapp’s Spurs, who will be looking to maintain pressure on the two high flying Manchester clubs. The north Londoners are currently five points behind United and seven adrift of leaders City.

Newcastle are sure to pose a tough test, with Pardew’s men proving one of the surprise packages of the season.

Redknapp has a number of injury worries ahead of the game, with William Gallas (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) definitively out of the clash. Rafael van der Vaart (calf) too looks set to be confined to the sidelines while, Younes Kaboul (knee) and Sandro (calf) are struggling to be fit.

Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe both missed Monday’s game against Liverpool but are in contention for this weekend’s encounter.