Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs welcome Southampton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, with an invaluable three points at stake.
Spurs vs Southampton is one of the most fascinating Premier League clashes of the weekend, as the hosts desperately seek a victory against a club which is growing in confidence.
A win for Ralph Hassenhuttl’s Saints would lift them above Spurs, and that would be some turnaround since a 3-0 defeat at Burnley on the opening day. But the feel-good factor he brought to St Mary’s on his arrival last season is emerging again and his side will head north to London without fear.
The SBOBET odds on a Spurs win should give their fans some confidence, but they need their team to start showing some consistency on the pitch.
Talking Points
Spurs’ slow start
The early Premier League 2019 results have not been exactly what Pochettino would have hoped for after such a good top four campaign last season and a Champions League final. Spurs are already ten points behind leaders Liverpool, and it isn’t just in the league where Poch’s men have struggled. Spurs went out of the Carabao Cup to Colchester in midweek and threw away a 2-0 lead away to Olympiakos in the Champions League, returning from Greece with a draw.
Skipper Harry Kane is pulling no punches, saying: “I’d say it’s disappointing. I don’t think there’s any hiding behind that. To only win two games out of our first seven is not the standards we’ve set in previous years.
“We’ve put ourselves in good positions this season, we just haven’t managed to see the game out or find a way to win like we have in previous years.” Kane admits that draws at Manchester City and Arsenal were not terrible results, but being 2-0 up at Arsenal and drawing does feel like a terrible result.
To be fair, Pochettino’s team has been on the wrong end of a couple of VAR decisions already this season, including one which turned the game against Leicester City last week, which Spurs lost 2-1. They thought they had gone 2-0 up midway through the second half but had their second goal chalked off for offside, by a hair’s breadth. The Whites were still stunned as Leicester raced up the other end to score, before grabbing the winner late on.
Having put in serious challenges for a league title, particularly in 2016, Spurs are no closer now than at any time in Poch’s reign. The Premier League 2019 betting odds have the Whites out at around 67.00 to overcome both Manchester City and Liverpool, and we can’t argue with that.
Heung-Min Son was in inspired form in Spurs’ 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace and that’s been the one bright spot in recent weeks. Maybe some more magic from the South Korean will do the trick on Saturday.
Saints Carabao boost
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl took a different approach to the Carabao Cup, but he didn’t have much choice in all fairness, as the Saints were pitched against their bitter rivals Portsmouth.
The South coast derby is one of the fiercest on football and the boss played his big guns to give Saints fans a night to remember. Danny Ings was on target twice, while Cedric Soares and the rejuvenated Nathan Redmond made it 4-0 and a first Saints win at Fratton Park since 1984.
That was the perfect antidote to a 1-3 reversal to Bournemouth, which ended a run of seven points from three games in the Premier League.
History
Spurs has won 20 of the head to head clashes, since 1993, with 13 Saints wins and six draws.
The last meeting was a 2-1 win for Southampton, and as Harry Kane knows all too well, recent form favours the visitors, who have won four in six in all competitions, while Spurs has just the one victory, over Crystal Palace.
Spurs has not lost at home to the Saints in the last three meetings, while Hassenhuttl’s men are on a winning streak of four away from home.
Betting Tip
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton | Southampton Asian Handicap +1.25 @ 1.93 |
| September 28, 22:00 (GMT+8) |
The latest odds of Spurs at 1.44 suggest a comfortable home win, but I think it will be anything but. The draw is at 4.30 and the Saints at 7.00 to win, and both those options will get plenty of support.
If Spurs can get the win, it is likely to be a hard fought one, and at 7.20 a 2-1 score-line could be near the mark.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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