Southampton started the season in similar fashion to last term. Ralph Hassenhuttl’s team lost to Crystal Palace on opening day, 1-0, before falling to defeat against Brentford, 2-0, in the Carabao Cup.
The Saints failed to score in 180 minutes of football and now host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Spurs are also coming off of a Premier League loss. The Londoners fell 1-0 to Everton conceding a set-piece goal.
Jose Mourinho’s side nearly messed the bed in midweek against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League second qualifying round. Spurs gave up a 71st minute goal and needed two strikes in the final 10 minutes to claim the win and progress. All does not seem well at Tottenham Hotspur under Mourinho.
The big news heading into the weekend for Spurs is the pending loan signing of Gareth Bale. Mourinho continues to overhaul the successful team he took over from Mauricio Pochettino. Mourinho has inquired about striker Danny Ings and could sign the goalscorer before the transfer window closes.
Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur met four times in all competitions last season. The home team claimed a positive result in each of the games.
Hassenhuttl’s team claimed a 1-0 win at St. Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League. Ings’ 17th-minute goal was enough for the Saints to win.
Ings played a full 90 minutes against Crystal Palace on opening day tallying 3.00 shots. His expected goals for the day was 0.44. The former Liverpool striker had his best Premier League season ever last term with 22 goals.
Southampton are unbeaten in four straight games at St. Mary’s Stadium against Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions. The Saints have posted a 2W-2D-0L record at home versus Spurs during that four-game span.
Mourinho has just one player fighting for fitness ahead of matchday 2. Full-back Serge Aurier is recovering from a knock. He is likely to make the team for the weekend.
Hassenhuttl is hopeful that summer signing Mohamed Salisu will be fit for the fixture. He signed from Real Valladolid but is yet to feature. Forward Nathan Redmond is unlikely to play due to a knock while Stuart Armstrong is ruled out for the game.
Southampton are unbeaten in four straight games against Tottenham in all competitions. The Saints should get another positive result versus Spurs. Sunday’s game should be a close affair with both teams scoring in a stalemate on the south coast.