Life after Mark Hughes begins for Southampton tomorrow night with a trip to Wembley Stadium and a match against Tottenham Hotspur. The Hughes era was extremely short, as the St. Mary’s continues to play managerial musical chairs. Saints will now be on to their fifth manager in the past 18 months.
In the meantime, they’ll be lead by former club captain Kelvin Davis, who has a very tough assignment right out of the gates. He’ll face a Tottenham team hungry for a result after ending up on the wrong side of a very emotional north London derby at Arsenal on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the team news for both sides. Spurs defender and England international Kieran Trippier is back after a groin injury. In staying with the back line, Jan Vertonghen is suspended for this one due to his sending off in the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal.
Flipping over to the visitors, Ryan Bertrand, Matt Targett and Danny Ings could all miss this contest due to injury issues. Ings faces a late fitness test while Bertrand missed the draw with United on the weekend due to a back problem. Targett is recovering from a concussion suffered in the League Cup against Leicester.
Like the hosts, Southampton also has a player suspended for this match in Mario Lemina.
Southampton FC vs Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Spurs starting XI prediction: go to this link
Kick-off: 8pm (BST), Wednesday December 5th, Wembley Stadium, London
Google Win Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 70%, Draw 19%, Southampton 11%
Odds via Paddy Power: Tottenham 4/11, Draw 7/2, Southampton 15/2
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3, Saints 1
Feel free to post your own Spurs and/or Saints starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be. Enjoy the match everybody!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.