Southampton host Tottenham on Sunday in their first Premier League home match of the 2020/21 season. Get set for the clash with our Match Pack, in association with eToro...
THE MATCH
Southampton vs Tottenham
Premier League
St Mary’s Stadium
Sunday 20 September, 12 noon BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: David Coote
Assistants: Harry Lennard, Nick Hopton
Fourth official: Keith Stroud
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Richard West
HOW TO WATCH?
You can watch Southampton’s first Premier League home game of the season on BT Sport 1 (413) which will require a BT Sport subscription.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Both sides will be looking to kickstart their 2020/21 league campaigns after suffering opening day defeats.
Mirroring each other with 1-0 losses last weekend, Saints went down at Crystal Palace whilst Spurs failed to make home advantage count against Everton.
As a sideshow, the fixture will be the first time Kyle Walker-Peters has faced his former employers, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg returning to St Mary’s for the first time since departing earlier in the summer.
TEAM NEWS
It's mixed news for the hosts, who are unable to call upon Nathan Redmond after the winger suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup tie with Brentford.
However, Stuart Armstrong trained with the first team on Friday and could feature in some part after missing the opening two matches of the season with a quad injury picked up on international duty.
For Spurs, defender Japhet Tanganga remains on the sidelines due to a thigh injury and there could be further changes to the starting eleven after playing in the Europa League on Thursday night.
FORM GUIDE
Southampton:
Brentford (h) 0-2 Carabao Cup
Crystal Palace (a) 0-1
Tottenham:
Lokomotiv Plovdiv (a) 2-1 (Kane, Ndombele) Europa League
Everton (h) 0-1
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: "Last season we had four very intense, spectacular games [against Tottenham] and I expect the same at the weekend.
"We need an absolutely top performance to compete with them as they have massive individual quality, so we have to be the better organised team. Hopefully we find the right balance and good commitment to work as a team and then we have a chance."
José Mourinho: "I read Ralph's comments after the game [against Brentford] and I could say that my words are very similar to his. Lots of players that are not at the top of their game and condition.
"Pre-season was not good, many of their players didn't even have a pre-season and we are using these matches as the evolution of the players and the team. The reality is that we are playing for big things."
ONES TO WATCH
Danny Ings: Saints’ number nine scored three goals in four appearances against Tottenham last season and will now look to launch his tally for 2020/21 with another against Mourinho’s men.
Ings’s relentless pressing and willingness to run in behind caused the Spurs defence no end of problems last season, and the striker will look to enjoy a similar outing this time around.
Giovani Lo Celso: The clever Argentine midfielder returned to fitness for Tottenham’s midweek Europa League trip to Bulgaria and could now feature at St Mary’s.
With Spurs missing some bite in midfield against Everton last weekend, Lo Celso’s tenacious edge could be a welcomed addition to Mourinho’s line-up.
TOP PERFORMERS:
2019/20 statistics inclusive of all competitions
Southampton:
Goals:
Danny Ings 25
Nathan Redmond 5
James Ward-Prowse 5
Assists:
Nathan Redmond 6
James Ward-Prowse 5
Danny Ings 3
Tottenham:
Goals:
Harry Kane 24
Son Heung-min 18
Dele Alli 9
Assists:
Son Heung-min 12
Serge Aurier 8
Dele Alli 6
HEAD TO HEAD
Played 127
Saints 39
Draws 31
Tottenham 57
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
February 2020: Tottenham 3-2 Saints (Long, Ings) FA Cup
January 2020: Saints 1-1 Tottenham (Boufal) FA Cup
January 2020: Saints 1-0 Tottenham (Ings)
September 2019: Tottenham 2-1 Saints (Ings)
March 2019: Saints 2-1 Tottenham (Valery, Ward-Prowse)
DID YOU KNOW?
- Against no other current Premier League side are Spurs on a longer wait for a clean sheet than they are versus Southampton, failing to keep a shutout in any of their last nine meetings with Saints (also nine v Liverpool).
- Southampton have won each of their last four Premier League games played on a Sunday, as many as they managed across their previous 23 such games (D8 L11). Meanwhile, Tottenham have lost more Premier League games on Sunday than any other side, with last week’s loss against Everton their 88th such defeat.
- Danny Ings has scored in both of his Premier League appearances for Southampton against Tottenham – only against Norwich City (3) has he scored in more consecutive appearances in the competition.
KEEP UP TO DATE!
We have you covered! Across our channels we’ll bring you all the action from St Mary’s, 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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