The opening weekend of the 2022/23 English Premier League season sees Tottenham Hotspur host Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints endured another tricky top-flight campaign last term, finishing just five points clear of the relegation zone in fifteenth place.
Photos of these two will never get old 🥰 pic.twitter.com/MNav8ECfP5— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 31, 2022
Photos of these two will never get old 🥰 pic.twitter.com/MNav8ECfP5
At the opposite end of the table, Tottenham finished fourth – two points clear of fifth-place Arsenal and three points behind third-place Chelsea.
Spurs won 22 of their 38 Premier League games last season, registering five draws and 11 losses along the way.
Only Manchester City and Liverpool claimed more victories than Tottenham last term, while only the top three sides suffered fewer defeats.
Antonio Conte’s men ended the previous campaign on a high note, losing just one of their final 11 games before avoiding defeat in each of their last six.
Having kept a clean sheet in each of their final three encounters last season, Spurs will be confident of kicking off the new campaign with a positive result.
On the flip side, Southampton managed to win just nine of their 38 league games last term – registering 13 draws and 16 losses in the process.
Only the bottom four teams picked up fewer victories than Southampton last season, while only three sides claimed more draws.
It is also worth noting that Southampton conceded a whopping 67 Premier League goals in 2021/22, meaning they posted the fourth-worst defensive record in the division.
In addition to losing their final four games last term, the Saints managed to win just one of their last 12. Needless to say, they will be eager to turn things around this year.
Head-to-head: Southampton have only claimed one victory in their previous six meetings with Tottenham across all competitions.
When you look at the bigger picture, Spurs have lost just three of their past 14 matches against the Saints.
Team news: Tottenham will start the season with new signing Richarlison, as the former Everton star serves a one-match suspension.
Southampton will be without the injured duo of Tino Livramento and Theo Walcott on Saturday, while Nathan Tella is also a doubt.
Given the evident gulf between Tottenham and Southampton last season, Conte’s men are expected to kick off their campaign with an easy victory.
Forebet predicts that Spurs will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching Southampton.