Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Date: 01/01/2020
K/O: 15:00
Venue: St. Mary’s
Referee: Mike Dean
TV: BT Sport 1
St. Mary’s hosts a second Premier League game in a row as Tottenham travel to the South Coast to take on Southampton.
The Saints have ever so slightly improved their home form since the latter games of November, picking up seven points from their last four matches in their home ground. Before that, they had claimed one draw and no wins from six home games. Ralph Hasenhuttl will hope that the curse of St. Mary’s is well and truly lifted ahead of this tough New Year’s Day fixture.
If this is to be the case, a win against Spurs would hopefully put a bit of daylight between them and whoever is in 18th place as the first day of 2020 comes to an end. On top of this, the Saints have the chance to potentially leapfrog a number of teams including Brighton and Arsenal.
Danny Ings has been the epitome of clinical finishing in recent weeks, scoring four goals from nine shots in his last five games for the Saints. The Englishman is the main danger point for Tottenham to worry about, especially with his tendency to press high up the pitch and consequential ability to exploit weaknesses in Spurs’ defence.
Spurs usually churn out some impressive scorelines when it comes to the festive period, but have failed to put out any dominating performances this year. Last season Tottenham beat Everton 6-2 and thrashed Bournemouth 5-0 three days later. A year on, Mourinho’s results have been far less convincing and Tottenham could do with a big win and clean sheet to boost their confidence for the new year.
Spurs have been within touching distance of Chelsea in fourth place but have passed up a couple of opportunities to break into the top four with a direct loss to Chelsea and a draw to Norwich. However, Spurs are in direct competition with Manchester United, Sheffield United and Wolves, who are all within one point of Tottenham.
Lucas Moura has been sparking some enthusiasm into Spurs in recent matches, especially after the Lilywhites go behind. It seems Lucas has been a focal point of Mourinho’s efforts to turn each game in his favour as the Brazilian seems to burst into life in the second half. Tottenham have benefited from this as the effect is contagious throughout the attacking line.
Team News
Southampton
Southampton have no new injury concerns to worry about. Michael Obafemi was dropped against Crystal Palace with fears of the Irishman picking up an injury, but he is set to feature against Spurs on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Shane Long will likely miss out with his knee injury, while Yann Valery continues to recover from a virus.
Tottenham Hotspur
As for Tottenham, we could expect to see a few changes in the lineup, with Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko back from their one-game bans. Son still has one match left of his suspension to play out.
On the injury front, Hugo Lloris and Ben Davies remain out while they continue to recover from long-term injuries picked up earlier in the season.
Predicted Starting XIs
Southampton (4-2-2-2): McCarthy; Bertrand, Bednarek, Stephens, Cedric; Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse; Redmond, Armstrong; Ings, Adams
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Gazzaniga; Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Aurier; Winks, Ndombele; Sessegnon, Alli, Lucas; Kane
Score prediction: Southampton 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
The Saints have suffered a couple of thrashings at home to some of the top sides in the league and, despite their improvement in recent home games, they will likely find it hard to get anything against Mourinho’s men.
