Tottenham Hotspur are due to make a trip to St. Mary’s on Sunday to face Mauricio Pellegrino’s Southampton. Spurs are in red-hot form at the moment, having won 4 of their last 5 league fixtures, including their dazzling 4-0 win over Everton last weekend. It will be 3 wins on the bounce if they manage to topple the Saints.
Harry Winks, Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld are still out while Lloris is a doubt due to illness. Here is how we expect Mauricio Pochettino to roll out his starting line-up against the Saints.
Defence
It has been yet another solid season between the sticks for Hugo Lloris, as the 31-year-old has collected 9 clean sheets in 22 games and has once again repaid the trust of the manager. And even though he has been rated a doubt, with the game on Sunday, we are likely to see him take up the position once again.
The duo, comprising of Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez, is expected to be the centre-back pairing. Sanchez’s tackles and interceptions have been really beneficial for Tottenham and thus, he deserves to keep his place in the starting line-up whereas Vertonghen is an indispensable part of their backline now.
From the right-back slot, we expect to see the industry of Serge Aurier, who was absolutely impeccable against the Toffees last weekend and on the other side, Ben Davies would be a suitable option once again in the absence of Danny Rose.
Midfield
Eric Dier and Moussa Dembele have fared well together and Pochettino is expected to select them in the central midfield once again. The resilience that Dier brings allows Dembele to go on surging runs forward to unsettle the defence of the opposition and thereby allowing the other gifted attacking players to take advantage of the space.
Dele Alli’s creative prowess and fierce attacking tooth should see him being stationed as the central attacking midfielder. The 21-year-old has smashed 5 goals and registered 7 assists in the Premier League so far and would be looking to add more to his tally in the next fixture.
Attack
There is apparently no stopping Harry Kane this season, as the Englishman is making the process of scoring goals seem like a walk in the park. With 20 goals in 22 games so far, he is undoubtedly going to be the first name in Pochettino’s starting line-up.
Son Heung-Min will start on the left flank and will look to continue his rich vein of form while Eriksen will be the orchestrator from the right flank and will be seen drifting inside to link up with the midfielders.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored & Squawka
