Southampton are traveling to London to take on Tottenham Hotspur as both teams look to bounce back from loses the week prior.
The Saints, are coming off of a, somewhat embarrassing, 1-3 loss to Bournemouth last Friday while the Spurs look to right the ship after losing to the Foxes of Leicester.
Thus far, Hasenhuttl has gotten his side ready to take on big 6 sides and I expect nothing less out of this match. He managed to win over Tottenham last season and will look to repeat that result again but this time as the away side.
Spurs, have had a tumultuous start to the season and are only 1 point above Saints on the table but they have to believe this is a match they should be winning. So, let’s take a look at just how each side could walk away with all 3 points.
How Tottenham Will Win
The Champions League Runner-ups, do not have a win in their last 3 matches over all competitions and will be sure not to make it a fourth, while they are at home against a side they have had success against over the years.
They have a high-powered offense that can score with ease and have 12 goals through 6 matches. They do however have issues breaking down defenses at times and just pass the ball around the final third looking for a chance to show itself.
It will be interesting to see the lineup here with a match against Bayern Munich just three days later in the Champions League. Christian Eriksen could be the key man to this match as his passing could cause Southampton major issues. But, if they rest him for Tuesday they could struggle to score against Southampton if they play good defense.
How Southampton Will Win
Much like how they played against both Liverpool and Manchester United they will have to do here. They cannot be afraid and have to go into this match knowing they can get a result. The press has proven to be a great tool at disrupting opponents it is really just a matter of if they can score their chances.
This has really been the issue now for a few season. Southampton are always underperforming their expected goals and never seem to score as many goals as they should be. The match against Bournemouth is a prime example. The Saints recorded 25 shots in that match and only 6 found the target and the 1 goal came from a penalty. That trend cannot continue and you have to believe Hasenhuttl has addressed it.
The good news is they are coming off a match against their bitter rivals were they scored 4 goals and even though it was against a much lesser opponent seeing the ball go in 4 times has to be a confidence boost.
If they Saints can finish their chances they can win this match.
Predicted Line-ups
Tottenham: 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
Defenders: Serge Aurier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose
Midfielders: Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama
Attacking Midfielders: Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son
Strikers: Harry Kane
Southampton: 4-2-2-2
Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn
Defenders: Cedric, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard, Ryan Bertrand
Midfielders: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romue
Attacking Midfielders: Sofiane Boufal, Nathan Redmond
Strikers: Danny Ings, Che Adams
Predicted Score
Tottenham 2-2 Southampton