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Tottenham vs Southampton: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds
Postecoglou’s men will look to build confidence ahead of Thursday’s Europa League outing
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Arthur Ferridge2 minutes ago
Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick
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Tottenham return to Premier League action on Sunday as they host relegation favourites Southampton.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou is under more pressure than ever after losing to cross-town rivals Chelsea last time out, leaving the Lilywhites winless in four. Sat 14th in the league and out of the FA Cup, the side are well below their targets for the season.
A win for the hosts will be crucial as the Australian looks to rescue his relationship with the club and its supporters, and would also set the tone as Spurs prepare for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt, which will take place at Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.
If Spurs are to break their four-match winless run, it is not unlikely that it would happen against Southampton, who sit rock bottom of the Premier League, not deviating from that position since losing to Wolves on November 9.
The Saints have lost 10 of their last 12 matches, managing a rare win against Ipswich before claiming a battling draw at home to Crystal Palace last time out. Now 19 points adrift of safety, it would take a miracle for the south coast outfit to remain in the Premier League for next season.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Tottenham vs Southampton is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Sunday, April 6, 2025.
The match will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Where to watch Tottenham vs Southampton
TV channel: In the UK, the game is not due to be televised live.
Live stream: Fans can follow radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.
Free highlights: The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel will show highlights post-match, with Match of the Day 2 broadcasting on BBC One at 10:30pm.
Tottenham vs Southampton team news
Postecoglou’s side has been ravaged by injury this year, but the storm seems to be breaking of late. Brazilian forward Richarlison is back in full team training and could make the squad against the Saints, but Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso remain unavailable.
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Radu Dragusin is out for the season as he recovers from an ACL injury.
Ivan Juric has not had an easy time since replacing Russell Martin at Southampton, though injuries have not been too big an issue. He has just one player out for Sunday as Will Smallbone recovers from a groin injury.
Midfielder Flynn Downes will miss out as he serves a two-match suspension. He picked up a tenth booking of the season in last week’s home draw to Crystal Palace.
Key man: Tottenham were without Dejan Kulusevski against Chelsea
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Tottenham vs Southampton prediction
It can be tricky to bet on Spurs this season as their results have been somewhat unpredictable (see January’s 2-1 loss to Leicester), but it is near impossible to justify putting any money behind Southampton.
The squad will recognize the now-or-never nature of the game. Ahead of next week’s season-defining Europa League tie, there could be no better preparation than a straightforward, confidence-boosting league win. Southampton should not pose too much of a threat to the Lilywhites.
Tottenham 4-0 Southampton
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Tottenham wins: 46
Draw: 22
Southampton wins: 27
Tottenham vs Southampton match odds
Tottenham win: 1/3
Draw: 10/3
Southampton win: 11/2
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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Under-fire Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou is expected to make changes for the visit of rock-bottom Southampton, with the first leg of Spurs' crucial Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt to follow on Thursday night.
Micky van de Ven, Heung-min Son and James Maddison are likely to be rested, while Djed Spence could also be saved for the German side after a recent bout of illness.
Pedro Porro, who was given a rare rest for the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, is likely to return to the side at right-back, while Ben Davies could deputise for Van de Ven at centre-half.
Yves Bissouma has been replaced at half-time in three of his last five starts, so Lucas Bergvall, who only played an hour against the Blues, may continue at No6, with Pape Matar Sarr also likely to start.
Son could be replaced by Brennan Johnson or Mathys Tel in the front three, although Mikey Moore is also pushing for minutes and Richarlison is set to return to the squad after a muscle injury.
Postecoglou remains without Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) but said he had no fresh injury concerns after a 16th defeat of the league season at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
Asked if he would rotate at Saints, who Spurs beat 5-0 at St. Mary's in December, Postecoglou said: "To a certain extent, we are a little bit beyond that as the group is in a decent place physically where I don’t have to get players gametime.
"As I said, it is about getting some momentum leading into the game on Thursday. We will make a couple of changes but we won’t make too many."
Sport | Football
Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE: Premier League result, latest updates and reaction after Blues win London derby
A low-key London derby to rounds off the midweek Premier League action
The manager appeared to goad his own fans in a move which quickly backfired
Regrettable: Ange Postecoglou
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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP1 minute ago
Your matchday briefing on Chelsea, featuring team news and expert analysis from Malik Ouzia
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Ange Postecoglou clashed with Tottenham's travelling supporters at Stamford Bridge as he became the first Spurs manager to lose with his first four league games against rivals Chelsea.
Enzo Fernandez’s header five minutes after the interval settled a chaotic game, which saw both sides have a goal disallowed.
Caicedo thought he had doubled Chelsea's lead with a brilliant volley, but it was ruled out by the VAR for offside.
Spurs substitute Pape Matar Sarr then equalised with a low-range strike, prompting Postecoglou to cup his ear to the away end, who had jeered en masse the decision to introduce the Senegalese for Lucas Bergvall.
But Sarr’s goal was also ruled out for a foul on Caicedo, and Chelsea held on to boost their top-four hopes.
Here’s how we rated the Spurs players…
Guglielmo Vicario 6
Pulled off a stunning one-handed save to deny Sancho at the end of the first half but shaky with his feet and flapped at crosses. Powerless to keep out Fernandez’s close-range header.
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Djed Spence 6
Stood up well to Sancho’s tricks but left him and Cucurella free at the back post for a big Chelsea chance at the end of the first half.
Cristian Romero 5
Relished the needle of a big derby but struggled to shackle the returning Nicolas Jackson, and was shrugged off the ball by the striker more than once.
Micky van de Ven 5
Lucky when his clearance struck Jackson and came back off the post inside a minute, and should take his share of the blame for Fernandez being unmarked for the goal.
Destiny Udogie 5
Looked sharper after a much-needed rest and got stuck into tackles. Like Spence, frequently found himself outnumbered at the back post, including for the winning goal.
Rodrigo Bentancur 5
Offered little in the way of protection for Spurs defence and wasn’t adventurous enough with his pass to be a threat in the final third.
Lucas Bergvall 7
His dribbling was eye-catching and he looked the likeliest to make something happen for the first hour. His withdrawal prompted loud criticism of Postecoglou from the away end.
James Maddison 5
Passing ranged from brilliant to atrocious, and the game passed him by for long spells.
Wilson Odobert 5
Had a couple of bright moments but faded, and was hooked on the hour.
Heung-min Son 6
Extended Robert Sanchez at the back post in the closest Spurs came to a late equaliser.
Dominic Solanke 7
Worked tirelessly and used the ball cleverly at times. But had no sniff at goal, and was well-marshalled by Caicedo.
Subs
Brennan Johnson (Odobert 64’) 6
Set up a great late chance for Son with a low cross but guilty of some petulant fouls, too.
Pape Matar Sarr (Bergvall 64’) 7
Thought he had levelled the game with a long-range strike but ended up booked for a foul on Caicedo instead.
Pedro Porro (van de Ven 87’) 5
Booked for dissent after being a rare rest from the start.
Mathys Tel (Maddison 87’) 6
Had a couple of bright moments on the ball from the left wing as Spurs pushed for a leveller.
Not used: Kinsky, Bissouma, Gray, Davies, Moore.
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Another huge derby day is upon us as Chelsea and Tottenham tonight face off at Stamford Bridge in what is historically been a bad-tempered - and action-packed - affair.
The Blues’ form has faltered of late, taking just six points from their last five Premier League matches before the international break, but they will be bolstered by the returning Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Noni Madueke.
Jackson and Madueke’s output has been sorely missed as the Blues have struggled to find the back of the net in their absence. The club have scored more than two goals in a match on just one occasion since January, a 4-0 win against rock-bottom Southampton.
As such, manager Enzo Maresca has come under pressure from fans, who have quickly tired of his patient, possession-focused style and apparent lack of innovation as results slump. He has not been helped by awkwardly timed injuries, though many a fan has been left wondering what became of Chelsea’s high-flying pre-Christmas form.
That is not to say the grass is any greener at Tottenham, who are languishing in 14th place in the table. Ange Postecoglou’s side also ravaged by injuries with the manager at one stage without 11 first-team players.
Winless in three in the league having lost to Fulham and Manchester City either side of a home draw to Bournemouth, time is running out for Postecoglou to get his side on song. Pressure is mounting as club leadership are reported to be considering a change of head coach.
While Chelsea are realistically the more likely candidates for the win on Thursday, one must remember that the Blues do nothing the easy way. See, for instance, the away loss to Servette which nearly saw them miss out on Conference League qualification or last month’s laboured 1-0 win over Leicester. Perhaps low on morale after a string of shaky performances, Chelsea will be vulnerable.
Whether Spurs can take advantage of said weakness, though, is another question entirely. They historically do not perform well at Stamford Bridge, failing to win there since 2018, and are winless - and pointless - in their last three against Chelsea, who will hope to continue the trend.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven start together for Tottenham in the Premier League against Chelsea for the first time since the reverse fixture in north London in December, in which they were both injured.
Ange Postecoglou has gone with his strongest possible side for big game at Stamford Bridge, and is likely to rest players for Sunday's visit of Southampton ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) are sidelined, while Richarlison has returned to full training but Postecoglou said he will not be involved in west London.
Postecoglou has opted for Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie at full-back, with Pedro Porro the one to drop out.
Rorigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison are selected to make up the three-man midfield, although Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray are on the bench if changes are required.
Wilson Odobert impressed for France's Under-21s during the international break and has the edge of Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel and Mikey Moore on the right wing, while Heung-min Son and Dominic Solanke will make up the front three.
Van de Ven and Romero were both forced off with injuries during Spurs' 4-3 defeat to Enzo Maresca's side earlier in the campaign. Romero was sidelined for three months with a thigh injury, while van de Ven briefly returned in January before appearances against Bournemouth and AZ Alkmaar last month.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are tonight set to start together for Tottenham in the Premier League against Chelsea for the first time since the reverse fixture in north London in December, in which they were both injured.
Ange Postecoglou is likely to go with his strongest side for Thursday's game at Stamford Bridge, and rest players for Sunday's visit of Southampton ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) are sidelined, while Richarlison has returned to full training but Postecoglou has said he will not be involved in west London.
Postecoglou must pick two from Pedro Porro, Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie at full-back, with the Italian most likely to miss out given Spence's impressive displays at left-back for the last few months.
Rorigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison are in pole position to make up the three-man midfield, although Pape Matar Sarr would add running power and Archie Gray is an option after starting at No6 in the defeat at Fulham before the international break.
Wilson Odobert impressed for France's Under-21s during the international break and has the edge of Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel and Mikey Moore on the right wing, while Heung-min Son and Dominic Solanke will make up the front three.
Van de Ven and Romero were both forced off with injuries during Spurs' 4-3 defeat to Enzo Maresca's side earlier in the campaign. Romero was sidelined for three months with a thigh injury, while van de Ven briefly returned in January before appearances against Bournemouth and AZ Alkmaar last month.
Palmer missed the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal before the international break with what was described as a minor muscle injury and pulled out of England duty as a result.
It was the first game the playmaker had missed in the Premier League all season, but he returned to training last week. So, too, did Madueke and Jackson, who have each been sidelined with hamstring problems.
Madueke was forced off early in February’s 3-0 defeat away at Brighton, while Jackson has not played since picking up his injury in the home win over West Ham on transfer deadline day two months ago.
Speaking on Wednesday, Enzo Maresca confirmed: “Cole is back, he’s okay, he’s better. Noni is better, Nico is better. They are all good.”
Pedro Neto has been deputising as a No9 but could return to the wing, with Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku at risk of losing their places.
Meanwhile, the timing of the FA Cup quarter-finals has eased Chelsea’s usual post-international break headache, with first-choice midfield pair Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez having had sufficient time to recover from their trips to South America. That pair will be needed, with Maresca revealing that Romeo Lavia has suffered another injury setback and is a major doubt.
Tottenham’s season has been disrupted by injuries as several key players have spent significant time on the sidelines
Ange Postecoglou admits he could have eased Cristian Romero back into action at the start of the season
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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP2 minutes ago
Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick
I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has admitted he was mistaken to use certain players, including Cristian Romero, from the start of the campaign because they had experienced "disruptive" pre-seasons following international tournaments.
Postecoglou's Spurs, who face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, have been decimated by injuries this term, with Romero featuring in just 17 of their 46 matches so far.
The centre-half was part of Argentina's Copa America-winning squad last summer, while Rodrigo Bentancur also featured for Uruguay at the finals.
Dutch defender Micky van de Ven, Romania's Radu Dragusin and Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario were part of their countries' Euro 2024 squads, and all five players were given extended breaks following the tournaments.
Romero and van de Ven both suffered fresh injuries on their return to the Spurs team after lay-offs in the reverse fixture against Chelsea and they could start together in the Premier League for the first time since that game at Stamford Bridge this week.
Postecoglou conceded that playing some members of his squad from the opening day of the season was "not wise" and says the club will evaluate their mistakes at the end of the campaign.
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"Looking at how we went into the season, some guys, especially Romero, hardly did any pre-season with us and it wasn't wise to play him from the first game," Postecoglou said.
"That's something that we need to look at, guys who don't do pre-season. I've done it before in my career where you wait until they're ready to go. But I think that's all for the end of the year.
"[Pre-season was] really disruptive in terms of the amount of players who weren’t part of it for an extended period of time [and] we just went into the league season, and then into Europe and a decent run in the Carabao Cup.
Micky van de Ven suffered an injury setback in the reverse fixture against Chelsea earlier in the season
Action Images via Reuters
"In retrospect I should have looked at it from a different perspective in terms of when we introduce players into the first team to really drive into our season.
"We had a lot of players on international duty who came back pretty late in the piece.
"What I’m trying to explain is that players need a good two-to-three week block of training before they play.
"If that means somebody comes in the last week of preseason rather than putting him in the first team, give him that block and make him available for selection after we’ve had a decent hit at it."
Spurs have announced a pre-season friendly against north London rivals Arsenal in Hong Kong on July 31, with other tour dates and locations to be announced by the club in due course.
There are no international tournaments this summer but Postecoglou says he plans to tailor pre-season to each individual to ensure Spurs are better prepared for next term.
"It's not the actual design of pre-season," he added. "This year, what we’ve done so far, it’s looking like from a games programme and the trips we need to do it’s a decent games programme.
"I don’t think any player wants to do preseason. If they could all avoid it they would… I think with the way football is going and has gone in recent times, with the volume of games plus the fact they’re not really getting the traditional summer break you’ve got to start thinking about it.
"I’ve done it in the past where you kind of tailor it more individually rather than say we do preseason on the first day, everyone ready to go. I just don’t think that world exists."
I don’t think any player wants to do preseason. If they could all avoid it they would
Ange Postecoglou
Postecoglou's decision to start Romero and van de Ven in the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea backfired, with the former suffering a thigh injury after just 14 minutes and the Dutchman forced off late on with a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
"Romero was coming back from a knock on his toe but he was fit," Postecoglou said.
"Micky with his hamstring, he'd passed all the tests, we'd done everything and everyone felt like he was ready to go.
"There was some other context around that: we'd lost a couple of other centre-halves. And it unravelled.
"I know going into the game, my main concern was Micky. I wasn't really concerned about Cristian but then you lose Cristian to an unrelated injury and it puts more pressure on Micky and then he gets injured.
"Yeah, look, again, in hindsight, I would have not played either of them -- and they would have got injured in the next game mate. That's just the way football works."
Ange Postecoglou is eyeing a first win over Chelsea as Tottenham boss
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Chelsea have been frustrated by defensive teams in their last two home games, 1-0 wins over Leicester and FC Copenhagen sealed by second-half goals, but Postecoglou characteristically played down the prospect of Spurs setting up to frustrate their rivals.
"Sorry to disappoint," he said. "We’ll go there and have a crack and see if it’ll be a good game and hopefully we’ll come out on top.
"I think every club’s on its own journey and I was brought here for a couple of specific reasons. One was to change the way the club plays its football, rejuvenate the squad and bring some success. We’re well and truly on that road and we’ll stay on that road until those things happen."
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