Team News & Expected Line-up - Southampton vs Spurs 25/04/15

Discussion in 'Tottenham forum' started by James McC, April 25, 2015.

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  1. James McC

    James McC Member

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    Spurs can cut the gap between themselves and Manchester City to just 4 points if Mauricio Pochettino can win at former club Southampton on Saturday.

    Should Aston Villa and West Brom upset the odds and keep City and Liverpool at bay, Poch’s side could jump into 5th place with 6 Premier League games remaining this season.

    And the signs look good for Spurs who are unbeaten against the Saints since March 2005, winning the next 5 on the bounce. Most recently, Christian Eriksen’s 1st half strike was enough to grab the 3 points at White Hart Lane.

    Team News

    Kyle Walker is the most notable absentee from the Spurs squad this week, as it emerged that the England fullback could miss the rest of the season with a foot problem. The news comes as a massive blow for both Spurs and Walker, who only returned from long-term injury in mid-season.

    In better news, Hugo Lloris could return to the side after missing the last 3 games through a knee injury picked up in our 4-3 thriller with Leicester in March. The French captain returned to full training this week and so will be tested late whether he is fit to replace Michel Vorm – who has conceded 5 goals since his call-up.

    Nabil Bentaleb is expected to start on the ground he made his Spurs debut, while PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year nominee Harry Kane needs just one more to level Gareth Bale’s 21 Premier League goal haul.

    Opposition View

    The Saints enjoyed an astounding start to the season, holding down a Champions League place for weeks despite losing a host of top stars in the Summer.

    However, Ronald Koeman’s side’s form has dropped off in recent weeks, leaving them one place behind Spurs in 7th place in the table thanks to a run of just 3 wins in 9 games.

    They’ve netted just 8 times in their last 11, thanks to Italy striker Graziano Pelle’s draught, and their last outing resulted in a 2-1 loss at Stoke City.

    What They Said

    Manager Mauricio Pochettino “It’s true I’m an emotional person and it’s an emotional game because we spent one-and-a-half-years at Southampton and it was a fantastic period. However, the most important thing is the match and what happens on the pitch.”

    Defender Jan Vertonghen “Southampton are a very good team, they’ve played very well this season like they did last season and they’re a difficult team to beat. They play very well from the back so I think it’s going to be an exciting game.”

    Line-up

    Lloris (c), Dier, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Bentaleb, Mason; Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane
     

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