MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 23:36:19| >> :60:3368:3368:

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Southampton

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to continue their push for the Champions League when they welcome Southampton to White Hart Lane on Saturday.

A run of just eight points from their last six matches has left Spurs in fifth position in the table, two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and three behind third-placed Chelsea with four matches remaining.

They will be confident of closing that gap this weekend having won nine of their 17 matches on their own patch this season, while Southampton have managed just three wins on the road from the same number of fixtures.

The Saints will be boosted by their recent performances, however, having lost just one of their last five matches in the league, a run of form that has left them in 13th position in the table, just three points off the top half.

The reverse fixture earlier in the season ended in a 2-1 win for Spurs, but the capital outfit have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions.

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas could welcome back Aaron Lennon following a period on the sidelines, while Steven Caulker is also pushing for inclusion in place of Kyle Naughton. Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe will continue in his lone role in attack.

Tom Huddlestone should edge off competition from Lewis Holtby and Gylfi Sigurdsson to form part of a midfield three with Scott Parker and Moussa Dembele, but Benoit Assou-Ekotto is expected to be named on the bench once more.

Southampton will be without the services of Daniel Fox and Gaston Ramirez, who were both dismissed in their 3-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion last time out. That should allow Jose Fonte and Jason Puncheon both to return to the team.

Emmanuel Mayuka is also pushing for inclusion after an impressive cameo last time out, but January signing Vegard Forren is expected to once more be consigned to the bench.

Recent form

Tottenham: DDDWD

Southampton: WWDDL

Possible lineups

Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Dembele, Parker, Huddlestone; Lennon, Defoe, Bale

Southampton: Boruc; Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Hooiveld; Cork, Davis, Schneiderlin; Lambert, Rodriguez, Mayuka

Sports Mole says: 2-0


ID:82439: cacheID:82439:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5569:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe scores against Manchester City during the Premier League clash on April 21, 2013
Read Next:
Team News: Defoe starts for Spurs
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!