Southampton’s return to the Premier League might be painfully short-lived if they can’t pull off a win against Tottenham this Sunday in North London.
It wasn’t the best of evenings for Tottenham’s manager, Ange Postecoglou, who had to watch his team come up short against Chelsea during their midweek London derby. Chelsea clinched victory thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s goal, and Spurs saw a comeback goal from Pape Sarr go up in smoke thanks to a VAR decision. This, understandably, drew yet another frustrated reaction from Postecoglou regarding the use of technology.
Currently, Tottenham are struggling, having gathered only one point from their last four Premier League games. They find themselves down in 14th place, with just one home win in their past ten league matches. Nevertheless, there’s a sliver of optimism as Postecoglou eyes the upcoming Europa League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt as a chance to bring home some silverware in his second year.
Southampton, under Ivan Juric, was inching towards a rare victory midweek thanks to Paul Onuachu, but Crystal Palace spoiled the party with Matheus Franca’s late equalizer. This means the Saints are now on a seven-match winless run.
Sunday presents a potential new low for Premier League history. If Southampton loses and Wolverhampton beats Ipswich on Saturday, the Saints face the grim reality of relegation with a hefty seven games still to play. The record books note that no team has ever been officially relegated by Gameweek 31. Memories of a disheartening 5-0 defeat in their last encounter with Tottenham and their inability to keep a clean sheet away at Spurs in their last 15 top-flight visits only add to the mounting pressure.
Turning to team news, Postecoglou reports no fresh injuries from Thursday’s defeat to Chelsea. Micky van de Ven’s cramping doesn’t seem serious, and Richarlison might make a return after overcoming a calf issue. Spurs, however, still miss Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, and Kevin Danso due to injuries.
With the Europa League looming, we can expect some squad rotations from Postecoglou. That might mean more play time for players like Sarr, Brennan Johnson, and Mathys Tel, while Heung-min Son could be given the bench.
Southampton has its own challenges: Flynn Downes will miss the match due to suspension after picking up his 10th yellow card. Juan Larios, Ross Stewart, and Will Smallbone remain on the recovery road, although Smallbone edges closer to a return. Onuachu is a question mark after sustaining an ankle injury during the week, but there’s hope that Lesley Ugochukwu and Ryan Manning will be fit to play.
Here’s how the teams are likely to line up:
For Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Gray, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Tel
For Southampton: Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap; Sugawara, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Walker-Peters; Fernandes; Archer, Dibling
Wondering how you can catch the clash between Tottenham and Southampton? The match kicks off at 2 pm on Sunday in North London. Unfortunately for UK viewers, it won’t be televised as Sky Sports will be showing Fulham’s match against Liverpool instead.
