Relegation battling Southampton face top-four chasing Tottenham Hotspur in a crunch Premier League clash at St Mary’s Stadium.
Victory could see Southampton climb out of the relegation zone, whilst Tottenham can go third with a win.
Team News
Kyle Walker-Peters is a doubt for Southampton after he suffered a hamstring injury during their midweek defeat against Brentford.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (fitness) is a doubt but Valentino Livramento (muscle) and Juan Larios (adductor) remain absent.
Tottenham could welcome Emerson Royal back into contention after recovering from a knee injury, which had forced him to miss their win over Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Hugo Lloris (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL) and Yves Bissouma (ankle) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Southampton host Tottenham at St Mary’s Stadium in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday 18 March, with the match not televised live in UK.
Stat Attack
- Southampton have claimed four points from their last five meetings against Tottenham (W1, D1, L3).
- Tottenham have won just one of their last five league visits to Southampton (W1, D2, L2).
- Spurs’ Harry Kane has scored in three of his last four away appearances against Southampton.
- Southampton have scored fewer goals than the two other teams sat in the relegation zone coming into this matchweek, having scored 20 goals in 27 matches.
- Spurs’ Harry Kane has been involved in 22 league goals this season, in which he scored 20 goals and provided two assists.
Prediction
Having produced positive attacking football last weekend in their goalless draw at Manchester United, Southampton unfortunately returned to their sloppy ways in a midweek defeat at home to Brentford despite second-half improvement so a reaction is needed here.
Tottenham meanwhile were absolutely clinical in their demolition of Forest and surely will need to bring that quality into this game if want to keep a top-four finish in their own hands, yet their away form has been inconsistent which raises tough questions about what to expect on the pitch.
This game ultimately has a lot riding on it momentum wise heading into the international break, given that both teams have two tricky games in a fortnight’s time, so I do expect both teams to come out fighting but Spurs should just have enough despite their recent poor form at St Mary’s.
Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Tottenham
Result: Southampton 3-3 Tottenham