A battered and bruised Tottenham need three points on the south coast this weekend as they face Southampton.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are without a win since a 4-0 win over Manchester City last month, but there have been relievers. The Lilywhites are woefully depleted in defence, with the absences of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven causing a litany of tactical concerns.
Spurs’ recent malaise means they sit 11th in the table heading into the weekend’s fixtures, but a win on Sunday could propel them into the top half. They are just six points clear of Nottingham Forest in fifth having played a game less.
Southampton they have won just once in the Premier League since their return to the top flight, with Russell Martin struggling to enjoy the same success with his possession-oriented ideals as he did in the Championship.
The Saints are rooted to the foot of the table and are already eight points behind 17th-placed Crystal Palace.
Behold 90 minutes guide for sunday Premier League conflict.
Southampton – Tottenham Hotspur H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Southampton |
Tottenham |
|---|---|
|
Aston Villa 1-0 Southampton – 24/12/07 |
Rangers 1-1 Tottenham – 12/12/24 |
|
Southampton 1-5 Chelsea – 24/12/24 |
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 24/12/08 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Southampton – 29/11/24 |
Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham – 24/05/12 |
|
Southampton 2-3 Liverpool – 24/11/24 |
Tottenham 1-1 Fulham – 01/12/24 |
|
Wolves 2-0 Southampton – 24/11/09 |
Tottenham 2-2 Roma – 28/11/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, Discovery+, Discovery+ App |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 2 Canada |
Martin confirmed that Adam Lallana, Paul Onuachu and Jan Bednarek are all back in contention after relatively short injury layoffs. Onwatsu impressed in the 3-2 defeat by Liverpool and could trouble Tottenham’s defense on Sunday.
Lallana is not expected to make an immediate return to the Saints starting line-up, but Bednarek should make Martin’s five-man squad.
Jack Stephens is suspended following his red card against Chelsea, while Aaron Ramsdale, Will Smallbone, Juan Larios, Ross Stewart and Gavin Bazunou remain absent.
Southampton predicted line-up against Tottenham (5-2-1-2): Lumley? Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Bednarek, Manning; Downes, Fernandes; Dibling? Armstrong, Onwatsu.
Postecoglou will have to do some serious shuffling on Sunday. With Rodrigo Bendancourt and Yves Bishouma sent off, Archie Gray is the most obvious candidate to start at the base of midfield. However, Spurs’ injuries at centre-back mean Gray will likely have to team up with Radu Dragusin again after doing so at Ibrox in midweek. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies are all on the sidelines.
Lukas Bergvall has shown flashes in recent cameos and could make his first Premier League start this weekend, while Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski are certain to return to the squad after combining for Thursday’s tie.
The visitors are also without Richarlison, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham predicted line-up against Southampton (4-3-3): Forster? Spence, Dragusin, Gray, Udogie; Sarr, Kulusevski, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Sean.
Tottenham need this. Sunday’s visitors have dropped into the bottom half of the table and while Postecoglou’s side are depleted, legions of fans are starting to get impatient.
Defeat to a poor Southampton side will no doubt lead to an even wider gap between the fans and diminishing support for the manager ahead of a huge Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The Saints have shown glimpses, but their ability to shoot at the foot should help a Tottenham side who press very well up front. This could be a back and forth affair with the desperate visitors pulling out a win.
