The final game in the Boxing Day set of fixtures in the Premier League comes from St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday night when Southampton host their former manager as Tottenham are the opponents to Claude Puel’s men.
Southampton have struggled for consistency this season but will be looking for a win to move up the table here while Tottenham have to keep winning if they want to stay with those at the top of the table.
Southampton
Whether it is their involvement in the Europa League or a new manager getting to grips with the league I’m not sure but consistency has been something of an issue the longer the season has gone on. They are undefeated in three matches going into this one though so they will be hoping this is the offset of a decent run.
One area where the Saints haven’t had too many problems is in defence. Very rarely do they get the run around at the back and only Chelsea and Tottenham have conceded fewer this season. The issue has been scoring goals and only Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough have scored less than them.
Tottenham
It was around this time last season that Spurs launched their tilt at the title. They’ve been going along alright this season with just two defeats in their 17 matches but six draws are probably a couple too many and that has what has seen those at the top get a lead on them. They need to start converting the draws into wins.
The spell of the season that Tottenham were without Harry Kane saw them struggle to get results but since he has been back they have done better although they go into this match with defeats in their last two away games. They have been at Chelsea and Man Utd so we shouldn’t hold that against them but they need a confidence boosting performance.
Team News
Southampton will be able to welcome Oriel Romeu back from suspension for this one. Charlie Austin and Matt Targett are long-term injury victims and now Jordy Clasie is out with an injury.
Mousa Dembele and Toby Alderweireld both missed the win over Burnley but they are back for this match. Erik Lamela is still on the sidelines but Danny Rose and Vincent Janssen are both fit.
Betting
I have to admit I’m struggling to find an angle in on this match. Neither concede too many so I’m expecting this to be a tight match but that is reflected in the odds and there isn’t much value in any of the markets.
Both sides are pretty inconsistent so we would be taking a leap of faith in backing either of them here. That could make the draw more appealing but after a last gasp defeat backing that in the Merseyside derby I’m in no rush to get stuck into one of them again either so for me the right thing is to keep the powder dry and save it for the weekend.
Tips
No Bet
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