It’s safe to say that the odds are firmly stacked against Southampton as they p could be beneficialrepare for an away clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Saints head into this game full of confidence following their 4-0 win over Portsmouth in midweek.
Spurs, meanwhile, lost on penalties to Colchester United in the Carabao Cup and will be desperate to put things right against Southampton.
Pundits have been predicting how the match will pan out at the weekend, and it’s hardly a surprise that Saints are being tipped to struggle.
Mark Lawrenson reckons Spurs will win 3-0 and wrote for BBC Sport:
I think Tottenham will be back with a bang this week because they are a long way off being in crisis.
They should be too strong for Southampton. A comfortable win would go a long way to solving Spurs’ problems.
Charlie Nicholas, too, thinks Mauricio Pochettino’s side will come out on top with a 2-0 victory and said for Sky Sports:
Southampton got a great win at Portsmouth. You may say it’s only Portsmouth, but it was a derby and a derby that they needed to win.
There will be moaning and groaning but Tottenham will get the result. They could do with a goal in the first 20 minutes to calm things down.
Read Southampton’s verdict
All the pressure is on Tottenham and Pochettino. After their defeat to Leicester City last weekend and their embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Colchester, nothing less than a win will do.
Away games seem to suit Southampton better because of the counter-attacking style that Ralph Hasenhuttl employs, and a fixture against a team that has struggled to create from lengthy spells of possession could play into Saints’ hands.
Tottenham aren’t in a good place at the moment, and a fixture against Southampton is a huge potential banana skin.
Saints can travel to North London and play without fear, knowing that the underdog status could work in their favour.
