Newcastle United are certainly one team in the Premier League where their fans in the Transfer Tavern have no idea how the club will perform, they could scrap in the bottom three or challenge for a top-half stake. 

Nevertheless, the Magpies are in an enjoyable mood having certified an unsurprising instant return to the top-flight, which gets underway at home to Tottenham Hotspur and boss Rafa Benitez has a lot on his plate to decide between now and then.

Incidentally, the tavern’s Newcastle-mad bar man recalls the final game in this division before the club’s drop to the Championship was confirmed; a 5-1 rout over Spurs on the final weekend of Premier League action in the 2015/16 campaign.

Fans by the bar would be delighted for a repeat but in real terms that is extremely unlikely to be the case and Benitez has a number of dilemmas to digest in relation to his starting eleven for the visit of Spurs….

Here are two things the Spaniard needs to overcome to choose his team ahead of this fixture…..

Gayle or Mitrovic to lead the line?

Typically the most important, or noticeable, decision when choosing a starting eleven is which player is leading the line and this really is a problem Rafa Benitez may struggle to make a decision on.

Whilst our Tavern’s landlord battles to suggest Aleksandar Mitrović is the right man to start as striker, Dwight Gayle was undeniably Newcastle United’s most prolific forward last term with 23 goals.

The reasoning for this debate is both have enjoyed successful pre-seasons with Mitrović netting on two occasions up to this point and Gayle bagged three – it will surely be a dilemma Benitez may not overcome until the night before the game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Rafa Benitez should set up defensively

The Magpies are obviously over the moon for being back in the Premier League, as you can tell from their reactions in the Football Transfer Tavern, but they need to get down to business and start talking about formations and tactics.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs obtain a frighteningly impressive front line and while it may be a confident start to go all out against the north London outfit, it’ll be enduring to see the visitors’ renown counter attack hurt the Newcastle United defence.

This is why Rafa Benitez should consider setting up a defensive formation and settle for a point; by doing this it would mean defensive midfielders Isaac Hayden and Jack Colback could settle for a starting place or choose Jonjo Shelvey, who is an attack-minded midfield man.

Newcastle United fans, would it be smart to settle for a point from kick-off against Spurs? Who deserves the nod up front, Gayle or Mitrovic? Tell us your opinions in the comment section below!