Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton
Date: 05/12/2018
K/O: 20:00
Venue: Wembley Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Premier League
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Wembley plays host to a midweek clash between Tottenham and Southampton, with the latter having sacked their previous manager Mark Hughes after a winless run of ten Premier League matches.
Spurs’ last two fixtures were polar opposites of each other, but both were London derbies – first a dominant win against Chelsea, followed by a devastating loss to rivals Arsenal in which they conceded four goals.
Now that their north-London neighbours are level on points with them, Spurs will be determined to at least keep it that way for the time being. Elsewhere around them, Chelsea have edged one point above them back into third, meaning that the Lilywhites have dropped out of the Champions League spots for now.
Therefore this match becomes absolutely crucial for Spurs to keep a hold on their top four aspirations and anything but a win against the Saints would count as a failure for the fans.
Southampton have had a rough time under Mark Hughes since the beginning of the season and despite picking up a point against Manchester United on Saturday, the board decided two days later to sack the Welshman. The Saints were two goals to the good, but United were able to come back and salvage a point for themselves.
Southampton sit on the surface of the relegation zone but with four points separating the bottom six, a win or a draw could give the south coast outfit a strong foothold in the relegation battle as look to gain momentum ahead of the Christmas fixture list after appointing ex-Red Bull Leipzig manager Ralph HasenHuttl on Wednesday morning.
Anything but a win for interim boss Kelvin David would be a huge upset and is pretty unlikely to happen, but the fans will be safe in knowing that fellow relegation-battlers also have tough matches in midweek.
Team News
Kieran Trippier was unable to play Spurs’ last game against Arsenal due to a groin injury and the Englishman is unlikely to return to the starting XI on Wednesday, but may be handed a spot on the bench. Davinson Sanchez also remains absent at the back due to hamstring problem that could keep him out until the new year.
Elsewhere, Lamela has picked up a knock in the Champions League last week which could prevent the Argentinian from being handed any significant game time. Lucas Moura is fit to start however, and Dele Alli may be the player to make way having played a lot in recent weeks.
Mousa Dembele is also out for the time being, while Jan Vertonghen is suspended after being shown a red card on Sunday.
Southampton’s top scorer Danny Ings has been recovering from a hamstring injury but may not be quite fit enough to feature in Wednesday’s match, so it may be up to Charlie Austin to lead from the front, with Shane Long and Michael Obafemi both doubtful due to respective injuries.
In defence, Ryan Bertrand is nursing a back injury and is unlikely to play. The Saints have looked open without the Englishman, and the fans will be hoping he can somehow recover in time for Wednesday evening.
Mario Lemina picked up one too many yellow cards last time out, and is suspended for this match.
Predicted Starting XIs
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Rose, Alderweireld, Foyth, Aurier; Winks, Dier; Lucas, Eriksen, Son, Kane.
Southampton (3-4-1-2): McCarthy; Vestergaard, Yoshida, Stephens; Cedric, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Valery; Armstrong; Redmond, Gabbiadini.
Score Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Southampton 0
The sacking of a manager always makes a football game even harder to predict but with Spurs being by far the stronger of the two teams, Southampton have little chance of causing an upset as Pochettino’s side look to bounce back after their humiliation at the hands of Arsenal on Sunday.
