Southampton vs Tottenham Preview 18/03/2023

Southampton vs Tottenham – 18/03/2023

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Relegation-threatened Southampton welcome Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur to St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Saints find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League table, although they remain just five points shy of Crystal Palace in 12th place.

At the opposite end of the standings, Tottenham sit fourth – two points behind Manchester United and four points clear of Newcastle United.

Southampton head into Saturday’s clash on the back a 2-0 defeat to Brentford in midweek, meaning they have lost three of their last five games in all competitions.

When you look at the bigger picture, Saints have suffered eight defeats in their previous 12 outings, picking up just three wins along the way.

Not only have Southampton recorded more losses than anyone else in the Premier League this season (17), but they are also the joint-lowest scorers (20).

That said, the south coast side remain within touching distance of their relegation rivals and could escape the bottom three with a win this weekend.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur claimed an easy 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest last time out, ending a three-game winless run.

Spurs have now won three of their last four Premier League encounters, with five victories coming in their previous seven.

It is worth noting that Tottenham have failed to record a draw in any of their past 11 league outings, registering six wins and five draws to highlight their inconsistency.

Still, Antonio Conte’s side will be confident of enhancing their top-four bid against bottom-of-the-table Southampton this weekend.

Head-to-head: When Tottenham hosted Southampton back in August, Conte’s men claimed a dominant 4-1 victory over Saints.

On top of that, Southampton have only managed to win two of their previous 11 home matches against Tottenham Hotspur.

Team news: There are question marks over the fitness of Saints duo Kyle Walker-Peters and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, while Tino Livramento and Juan Larios remain sidelined due to injury.

As for Tottenham, they currently have four players out through injury – Hugo Lloris, Yves Bissouma, Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Given the 26-point gulf between lowly Southampton and high-flying Tottenham, the visitors are expected to claim all three points on Saturday.

Forebet predicts that Tottenham Hotspur will secure a low-scoring victory at St. Mary’s, keeping a clean sheet in the process.