Winless in five matches across all competitions, an out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur outfit seek a shot in the arm when they travel to Premier League basement boys Southampton on Sunday evening.
The Lilywhites could only muster a 1-1 draw against Rangers last time out in the Europa League, while the Saints were narrowly beaten by Aston Villa in their most recent top-flight showdown.
Match preview
© Imago
Festive cheer is currently in limited supply at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Ange Postecoglou's job security has been called into question amid Spurs' disheartening winless sequence since their astonishing annihilation of Manchester City.
Since embarrassing the champions at the Etihad, though, Spurs have taken just three points from the last 15 on offer across the Premier League and Europa League combined, most recently leaving it late to snatch a point against Rangers through super sub Dejan Kulusevski.
The stalemate with Philippe Clement's men came after Tottenham capitulated against a team in a similar shade of blue, firing in two early goals against Chelsea before falling to a chastening 4-3 defeat, their second straight loss in the top flight after being conquered at Bournemouth.
With only one success to show from their last five Premier League matches, the Lilywhites have slipped into the bottom half of the top-flight rankings and are just one league defeat away from suffering 15 for the second straight calendar year; not since 2004 have they suffered that fate.
Lacking inspiration away from their North London base all year long, Spurs head south having only won 25% of their Premier League road contests in 2024 - picking up four wins from a possible 16 - although they have gone unbeaten in their last 13 top-flight games with the team starting the weekend in 20th place.
© Imago
Southampton will both start and end the weekend at the foot of the Premier League standings on the back of their 12th defeat from 15 matches in the 2024-25 top flight, succumbing to a 1-0 loss to a rejuvenated Aston Villa side in the West Midlands last weekend.
A first-half strike from clinical Colombian Jhon Duran was all that was needed to send the Saints back to St Mary's empty-handed and hammer another nail into Russell Martin's coffin, but the Southampton boss - who recently branded his team's five-point total "embarrassing" - is still being given a stay of execution by the powers-that-be.
How much longer the hierarchy are willing to hold out is anybody's guess, though, as the Saints are eight points adrift of safety with 15 games gone, boast the worst attacking record in the top division (11 goals) and have only conceded fewer than 19th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sunday's hosts have accrued just the one point from their last five attempts in the Premier League, although four of their five points in 2024-25 have been won at their St Mary's base, and their head-to-head record against Spurs also makes for relatively pleasant reading.
Indeed, Southampton have only been beaten in one of their last six Premier League home matches against Tottenham and have netted in each of their last 15 top-flight games against Spurs, their longest scoring streak against a single team in the history of the Premier League.
Team News
© Imago
As well as Rodrigo Bentancur, who serves the fifth of his five-match domestic suspension at St Mary's, Spurs have lost Yves Bissouma to a totting-up of yellow cards following his inexcusable tackle on Moises Caicedo inside the penalty box last weekend.
Bissouma and Bentancur should be two of nine Spurs players to miss Sunday's match, as Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are out with the thigh injuries they picked up in the Chelsea defeat, while Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Mikey Moore (illness), Richarlison (hamstring), Ben Davies (hamstring) and Guglielmo Vicario (ankle) are sidelined too.
Rather than keep faith with James Maddison, Postecoglou should consider promoting Lucas Bergvall to the first XI over the under-performing Englishman, while Timo Werner will no doubt be axed for Dominic Solanke after his manager ripped into his performance against Rangers.
Southampton are not so fortunate on the injury or disciplinary front either, as Jack Stephens (suspended), Aaron Ramsdale (finger), Will Smallbone (thigh), Juan Larios (unspecified), Adam Lallana (thigh), Ross Stewart (calf) and Gavin Bazunu (Achilles) are still missing.
However, Martin has revealed that Paul Onuachu and Jan Bednarek are both back in contention to play, and there is every chance that the duo will be promoted to the first XI right away, Onuachu taking the place of Cameron Archer up top.
Nathan Wood put in a strong shift in Bednarek's place against Villa, though, so James Bree could give way for the Pole instead, as Martin tinkers ever so slightly with his rearguard setup.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Bednarek, Manning; Downes, Fernandes; Dibling; Armstrong, Onuachu
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Spence, Gray, Dragusin, Udogie; Kulusevski, Sarr, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Son
We say: Southampton 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
As Spurs' defence has been decimated and the Lilywhites are missing two banned midfield enforcers, do not expect Southampton's magnificent scoring streak against Tottenham to end on Sunday, but Martin's men will surely be restricted to the one consolation effort.
The trip to St Mary's represents a perfect opportunity for a troubled Tottenham to right their recent wrongs, and Postecoglou's men should prove their point to alleviate the pressure on their manager's shoulders, while at the same time putting Martin's job in even more jeopardy.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
