Tottenham Hotspur vs. Southampton: Match Preview, Projected Lineups & Predictions

Rebound. Tottenham Hotspur laid an egg at home to Newcastle last weekend, and you might think that a bad game was coming. Spurs were riding a 15 match unbeaten streak, but over half of those matches were draws. Spurs capitulated and shipped two goals late to the Barcodes, and welp, here we are.

A match against Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium isn't a whole lot of fun, by any means, but there's good news: Spurs have never actually lost to the Saints since they promoted to the EPL in 2011. Four wins, some of them shootouts, and a 2-2 draw last spring. Feels good, right? Soton is also reeling from an ongoing streak of five matches without a win. Depending on how you feel about Spurs' recent form and #narrative, this is either a good or a bad thing.

Spurs are without Clinton N'Jie, who did his knee in training recently, Ryan Mason, and Alex Pritchard. Mousa Dembele is training, but may not start. Otherwise, it's a full compliment. Saints are missing five, highlighted by Graziano Pelle, Maartin Stekelenberg, and Jay "Jay Rodriguez Role" Rodriguez (along with his role).

Can Tottenham get back to winning ways with a road victory over the Saints? We shall see.

How to Watch

Date/time: Saturday, December 19, 3:00 p.m. (UK), 10:00 a.m. ET (USA)
Venue: St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton, UK
Official: Kevin Friend
TV: NBC Sports Premier League Extra Time [the bonus channels] (USA), not televised (UK), TSN4 (Canada), Fox Sports 5 (Australia), other listings at livesoccertv.com
Streaming: NBCS Live Extra (USA)
Radio: Audio streamed at tottenhamhotspur.com, also BBC Radio London and TalkSport

Projected Lineup

The biggest question of this match is really about whether or not Mousa Dembele is healthy. He's reportedly training again and may make the match-day squad, but nobody really expects him to start. With him out of the lineup, we predict that Dele Alli will move further back alongside Eric Dier, making way for Son Heung-Min to slot into the attacking band. You know, the way we THOUGHT it was going to go late in the match against Newcastle. Don't be shocked, though, if Pochettino opts to start one of Nabil Bentaleb or Tom Carroll against the Saints.

Prediction League

As for the Prediction League, nobody foresaw Spurs laying and egg and losing against Newcastle (which should say something). So all stays the same in the table. The rules remain the same in the Prediction League -- one point for a correct prediction and a bonus point for getting the score correct. Here are the current standings:

Michael Caley: We do better when I'm scared than when I'm not, it seems. Well this week I'm scared. Everyone seems to think that because Southampton played two poor games that they're not a perfectly respectable mid-table side that can beat just about anyone at home. If we have another 90 like the WBA and Newcastle matches, they'll win pretty easily. But I think we won't. 2-1 Spurs.

Bryan A.: I tried to follow Caley last week and he lead me astray. So, I'm going back to predicting things on my own. Southampton are bad. Spurs are less bad. 2-1 Spurs

GN_Punk: I'm finding out I'm not really good at this whole prediction thing. Either way, I'm hoping the Newcastle debacle was a wake up call for the boys and they take out their frustrations on Southampton. Thanks for Toby, by the way! 2-1 Spurs

Mechanick: I am feeling petrified about this game. Spurs seem to find a way of stumbling through opportunities to seize, and I still have Southampton horrors after watching them play better football than us for the last...three years? Then I remember that Southampton is bad, they lost all their good players, and we have their former manager and best defender. So here goes some optimism. 1-0 Spurs

Ed F.: Southampton are slowly but surely reaping what they sowed when they bought in players Virgil van Dijk and Maarten Stekelenburg as the wheels slowly come off their season. This should be a win for Spurs, calling it at 3-1. 3-1 Spurs

Skipjack: 2-2 Spurs. Something something Conor is Poch's jilted ex.

Dustin Menno: I don’t have anything really profound to say about Southampton except: thanks for Pochettino, Mitchell, and Alderweireld, I guess. We should win this match. 2-1 Spurs.

Brett Rainbow: TBD

Ben Daniels: Despite my prediction for a 5-0 victory last week proving to be very, very, very wrong, I still haven't lost faith in this team. We're a lot better than Southampton. 2-1 Spurs

55thVin: Eric Dier ain't playing at his best, don't ask me why I'm motherf****** stressed. Predictions done changed. 2-1 Spurs

Earl of Shoop: Did you guys know that the RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton? That's pretty neat. I'd like to say we'll be playing the role of the iceberg in the story of their season, but I'm becoming worried that I've been a bit arrogant in my predictions so far this season. Basically I'm Cal in this poorly executed metaphor. You guys watch that movie? It's not bad. 1-1 Draw, ship sinks, everyone dies but Levy.

Luke Zimmerman: Last weekend's errors will not be repeated. Poch is thirsty for blood -- 3-0, Spurs

Matthew Pachniuk: Will be interesting to see the squad's reaction to the Newcastle loss.  We should be well rested but a trip to Saint Mary's Stadium, no matter Southhampton's form, is a tough fixture.  That said, we seem to show well against the Saints.  We eek out a 2-1 victory and get back on track. 2-1 Spurs.

Jake Meador: Our recent form scares me. 1-0 Spurs, but it's close and we rely on Hugo to bail us out at the end.

Salmon Chase: Spurs luck recently has been about the same quality as the runny coffee fueled dump I'm holding in as I ride this train. There is a lot of pressure but the ultimate result isn't at all good. I anticipate a change of form both on the field AND in my intestines (switching to green tea). 2-0 Spurs