Tottenham Hotspur host Southampton on Wednesday for an FA Cup replay as both sides look to book their place in the fifth round.
Spurs appeared to be heading into the last 16 after Son Heung-min gave them the lead at St. Mary’s. But Sofiane Boufal’s 87th minute equaliser earned Saints a replay.
Southampton dominated large spells of the first game and squandered a number of goalscoring opportunities. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side also enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession, so the draw was probably a fair result.
Tottenham come into this game on the back of an impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester City. A superb debut goal from Steven Bergwijn gave Spurs the lead before Son capped off the win.
Jose Mourinho’s side were clinical with their chances and scored twice from just three shots. By contrast, Man City failed to convert any of their 19 attempts.
Back-to-back victories have lifted Spurs up to fifth in the Premier League table – four points behind fourth-place Chelsea.
Southampton are six points behind Tottenham in thirteenth place. But perhaps more significantly, Saints are now seven points clear of the bottom three.
Following a dismal start to the 2019/20 campaign, Hassenhuttl’s men have claimed five wins in their last eight league games. This run has steered Saints clear of the relegation zone.
Southampton beat Tottenham 1-0 at the beginning of January but that was only Saints’ second victory in eight attempts. It’s fair to say that Spurs have enjoyed the better of the head-to-head record in this fixture.
Mourinho will be without long-term absentees Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies, so new signing Steven Bergwijn could start again on Wednesday.
As for Southampton, Stuart Armstrong and Yan Valery aren’t expected to feature, while Danny Ings will be looking to add to his impressive goal tally.
Southampton and Tottenham haven’t struggled for goals recently but their respective defensive records haven’t been great. All the signs are pointing towards both teams scoring.
Having said that, Spurs possess more firepower up front and their home advantage is likely to give them the edge.
Both teams are expected to score, but Forebet predicts that Tottenham will book their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a narrow victory.