At first glance, it may appear that fourth place Tottenham Hotspur have a decent sized lead over the rest of the pack in the race for top four. However, fifth place Newcastle United, who sit four points behind Spurs, have two games in hand on the North Londoners. Seventh place Brighton does as well, and they are only six points behind Spurs.
Sixth place Liverpool, even on points with the Seagulls, have a game in hand on Tottenham as well.
Tottenham at Southampton FYIs
Kick-off Saturday March 18, 2023 3 PM UK Time, St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 53% Draw 26% Southampton win 21%
Form Guide: Tottenham (WLWWL) Southampton (LDWLW)
PL Standing: Tottenham 4th, 48 pts Southampton 20th, 22 pts
In other words, Spurs grip on fourth place, and with it a Champions League qualification slot, is anything but solid right now. They can’t afford to be dropping points, especially so against the bottom side of the entire table- Southampton FC.
Let’s take a look at the unavailable players for both sides.
Team News for Both Sides
Team Captain and No. 1 Hugo Lloris (knee injury) is progressing, but he remains out and still has a ways to go yet. Yves Bissouma (foot) and Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) join him as long term injury absentees. Meanwhile Emerson Royal (undisclosed issue) is a doubt for this one
Finally, Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered a torn ACL earlier this year, is out for the season.
Flipping over to Saints, who are even more desperate for points than Spurs are, former North Londoner (but for Arsenal, not Tottenham) Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a doubt here due to an unspecified issue.
Valentino Livramento (knee) and Juan Larios (adductor) remain sidelined as long term injury absentees.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.