The New Year starts at St Mary's as Southampton look to move four unbeaten in the Premier League when Tottenham visit on New Year's Day. Get set for the first outing of 2020 with our Match Pack in association with eToro...
THE MATCH
Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League
St Mary’s Stadium
Wednesday 1st January 3.00pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistants: Ian Hussin, Dan Robathan
Fourth official: Keith Stroud
VAR: Anthony Taylor
Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Saints will be looking to carry the momentum they gathered from the end of 2019 into the New Year, aiming to extend their unbeaten run to four matches.
Heading into the first outing of 2020 off the back of a draw with Crystal Palace and victories over Chelsea and Aston Villa, another three points could see Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side rise as high as 12th, depending on results elsewhere.
Standing in their way will be a Spurs side searching for consistency. With a win, draw and defeat from their last three Premier League fixtures, José Mourinho will be looking to start collecting regular victories if his side are to encroach on a top four finish.
A win on the south coast could see them close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to just two points, should other results go their way.
TEAM NEWS
Ready for their fourth match in the space of 11 days, Saints have so far made it through relatively unscathed in terms of injuries.
Yan Valery remains the only absentee from training with a viral infection, whilst Michael Obafemi is back in action at Staplewood after missing the clash with Crystal Palace due to illness.
Although Obafemi remains a doubt to be included, Shane Long could return to the matchday squad having recovered from a knock that ruled him out of the last two matches.
For Spurs, they’ll welcome back Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko from suspension, but will still be without Heung-min Son (suspended), Ben Davies, Hugo Lloris and Danny Rose (all injured).
FORM GUIDE
Southampton:
Crystal Palace (h) 1-1 (Ings)
Chelsea (a) 2-0 (Obafemi, Redmond)
Aston Villa (a) 3-1 (Ings 2, Stephens)
West Ham (h) 0-1
Newcastle (a) 1-2 (Ings)
Tottenham:
Norwich (a) 2-2 (Eriksen, Kane)
Brighton (h) 2-1 (Kane, Alli)
Chelsea h) 0-2
Wolves (a) 2-1 (Moura, Vertonghen)
Bayern Munich (a) 1-3 (Sessegnon) Champions League
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We knew about the importance of these games and we’ve taken a lot of points which is good. We now have one against Tottenham at home and it’s another chance to get a win.
“Last season we had good game against them and once again we want to show that we’re competitive. The team is doing well at the moment and against Crystal Palace we had chances to win the game.
"In the end, it’s about working against the ball very well and then with ball staying calm and creating chances – if we do that, we have a good chance.”
José Mourinho: “We were punished [at Norwich] for our defensive mistakes. We are talking about individual mistakes and not tactical problems or anything like that, so that’s obviously a bad feeling.
“The players are working so, so hard and are exhausted, especially the players who played 90 minutes in both matches [over Christmas]."
ONES TO WATCH
Danny Ings: Already enjoying his best-ever season in front of goal, Ings has eight goals in the last nine games to make him the in-form striker of the division.
Just the third ever Saints player to hit double figures in the Premier League before the turn of the year – joining Matt Le Tissier and James Beattie – Ings will be looking to kick-start 2020 by adding to his 14 goals in all competitions.
The striker has already had a taste of scoring against Spurs, netting in the 2-1 defeat in London back in September.
Tanguy Ndombele: Described as ‘phenomenal’ by José Mourinho after his display in the 2-2 draw at Norwich on Saturday, Ndombele will head to St Mary’s in buoyant mood.
Spurs’ record signing was left out of the squad completely for the Boxing Day meeting with Brighton but returned to the fold with an all-action display at Carrow Road.
Offering real energy in the middle of the park, the former Lyon midfielder will be one to keep an eye on.
TOP PERFORMERS
Southampton:
Goals:
Danny Ings 14
James Ward-Prowse 4
Moussa Djenepo 2
Assists:
James Ward-Prowse 4
Danny Ings 3
Sofiane Boufal 3
Tottenham:
Goals:
Harry Kane 17
Son Heung-Min 10
Dele Alli 7
Assists:
Heung-min Son 8
Serge Aurier 5
Dele Alli 4
HEAD TO HEAD
Played 124
Saints 38
Draw 30
Tottenham 56
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
September 2019: Tottenham 2-1 Saints (Ings)
March 2019: Saints 2-1 Tottenham (Valery, Ward-Prowse)
December 2018: Tottenham 3-1 Saints (Austin)
January 2018: Saints 1-1 Tottenham (Sánchez OG)
December 2017: Tottenham 5-2 Saints (Boufal, Tadić)
DID YOU KNOW?
- Southampton and Tottenham have faced on New Year’s Day once before in the Premier League, Saints winning 1-0 in 2003 thanks to a James Beattie strike.
- Since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, Danny Ings has had a hand in more Premier League goals than any other Southampton player (23 – 19 goals, 4 assists). Ings has scored 12 goals this season, his best ever tally in a top-flight season.
- No side has kept fewer clean sheets in the Premier League than Tottenham this season (2), with only bottom side Norwich keeping as few. Indeed, since José Mourinho took charge, no Premier League side has conceded more goals in all competitions than Spurs (17).
NOT AT THE GAME?
Unable to start 2020 with us at St Mary’s? We have you covered! Across our channels we’ll bring you all the action, as well as a host of behind-the-scenes access.
Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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