Football London

Ange Postecoglou elected against playing Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie in Tottenham's win over Southampton with the team's return to Europa League action in mind. Tottenham host Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday evening, with the return game coming in Germany seven days later.

Both Van de Ven and Udogie were named on the Spurs bench for Sunday's 3-1 home win against Southampton but remained unused substitutes throughout the 90 minutes. Heading into the fixture with an opportunity to rotate his players ahead of such a crucial match in their season, the head coach chose to make a total of three changes from their defeat at Chelsea three days earlier.

Van de Ven and Udogie were two to drop out of the team as Ben Davies and Pedro Porro came in, with Brennan Johnson for Wilson Odobert Postecoglou's only other alteration. During his time speaking on Tottenham's Review Show after the win, the Australian revealed that he didn't want to make too many changes as he "thought it was important to get some sort of cohesion moving into Thursday".

However, he did admit that it was also "important" for Van de Ven and Udogie that "they got a full recovery" after starting in the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea. In his post-match press conference, Postecoglou also opened up on Richarlison's return to the squad and the importance of him taking his place in the 20-man matchday party again even if he didn't get to take the field.

"Yeah Destiny and Micky are fine. They have missed a lot of football this year so it made sense to put them on ice today," explained Postecoglou after the victory.

"Richy is good. We've kind of done this with a few of the boys coming back and getting them involved in the matchday and the possibility of him getting a run today, but I just thought when they're involved in matchday it gets rid of a lot of the nerves of coming back or anxiety from coming back from a long time out. He'll get a few more days in training and play a part from now on."

One other team selection Postecoglou made ahead of the Eintracht game involved Lucas Bergvall. The Tottenham midfielder, who recently missed out on two games for Sweden during the international break due to illness, was substituted on 64 minutes against Chelsea and it was a decision that didn't sit well with Spurs supporters.

Speaking the following day when previewing the Southampton game, Postecoglou told football.london that his midfielder "didn’t look himself physically and in terms of running power". Amid the disappointment of his early exit at Stamford Bridge, the Swede was back to his usual self against Southampton and was unlucky to have a goal ruled out for offside.

Given his recent absence on the international stage, Postecoglou opened up on the importance of Bergvall getting game time against Chelsea and "another good block" prior to the Eintracht Frankfurt showdown.

"Yeah, look he looked a bit leggy on Thursday night but I thought it was important for him to get it out of his system because he hadn’t played, because he didn’t play the internationals, for two-and-a-half weeks and he hardly played," revealed the former Celtic boss.

"With Thursday in mind, I thought giving him 60 minutes on Thursday (against Chelsea) and another good block, he looked a lot better today, physically stronger and in the first half I felt the midfield three of Rodri, Madders and Lucas were really, really good defensively but also when we had the ball, they were really strong and it worked well."

Clearly having one eye on the Eintracht Frankfurt match but also knowing the importance of beating Southampton and building cohesion for their return to Europe, all will be hoping that Postecoglou's decisions pay off when the German side visit N17 later this week.

Spurs' selection choices vs Chelsea, key player fitness & the loan latest - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

It is now 16 goals for Brennan Johnson this season after he struck twice in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Southampton on Sunday afternoon. The winger may even have had 17 goals to his name in the 2024/25 campaign had he taken the penalty he won in stoppage time.

Instead, it was substitute Mathys Tel who stepped up and converted from 12 yards to ensure there was no way back for Southampton after Mateus Fernandes' late goal. Everyone inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and those watching on from elsewhere probably expected Johnson to take on the responsibility and notch his first Premier League hat-trick after winning the penalty himself.

It was decided that Tel would instead have the opportunity to score Tottenham's third of the day, with Cristian Romero, who was wearing the captain's armband following Son Heung-min's substitution, heavily involved in the decision making. Johnson had indicated that he wanted to take it by pointing to himself and holding three fingers up to Tel to signal that he was on a hat-trick, but Romero took the ball off Pedro Porro, who was also involved, and placed it in the hands of Tel. The World Cup winner then walked over to Johnson, shared a few words with him and gave him a hug.

Perhaps he came to the conclusion that it was only right for Tel to receive a confidence boost after Johnson did likewise in the first half with his double following two excellent finishes in the area. Johnson looked a bit dejected immediately after as Tel stepped up, which is perfectly understandable as the opportunity to score a Premier League hat-trick doesn't come around too often, but he and the rest of the team were involved in the celebrations as they congratulated the January loan signing on his maiden Premier League goal.

Come the final whistle, Johnson was still a tad disappointed and he could be seen in conversation with James Maddison as they went around to shake hands with their opponents. Djed Spence could then be seen with his arm across the goalscorer as he spoke with Son and Micky van de Ven, with Archie Gray also speaking to him a few moments later.

Speaking during his time on The Review Show after the win, Johnson opened up on the incident but didn't want to go into it too much.

"Yeah, of course," he said when asked if he wanted to take the penalty. "It's only normal for me to want to take the penalty. I don't want to get into it too much. Obviously the conversation was had and Mathys stepped up and took it."

He added: "I think there's only a certain amount of talking to do before it gets quite messy. I've been in that situation before when I've had people wanting to take the ball off me and it kind of unsettles you a little bit. I know the game was pretty much done but still I don't want to unsettle someone too much or start any disagreements. Once the decision was made, I just had to kind of get on with it."

Johnson has found himself in and out of the team in recent weeks but his double should put him in an excellent position to start in Thursday's crucial Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. Wilson Odobert has tended to get the nod from the right-wing recently but the Frenchman may have made Postecoglou's mind up for him following his second-half cameo appearance in the win over Southampton.

Speaking to football.london in his post-match press conference, Postecoglou stated that he thought Odobert "didn’t look ready when he came on and only came to life the last 10-15 minutes". That in turn may give Johnson the edge over his teammate to play from the off against the German side.

The ex-Nottingham Forest man is Tottenham's top goalscorer in all competitions this season but consistency has been an issue for him with some strong performances followed up by poor ones. In his time with the media after the game, Postecoglou was asked about getting that consistency into the 23-year-old's game.

"It’s tough but I think whenever Brennan plays that he's always a goal threat," admitted the head coach. "He has been really good for us in terms of goals and, even though I don't rate them highly, even his assists have been important to us as today he won the penalty.

"He's really important for us in the way we play and I don't think he has been inconsistent this year. The disruptions we've had in the team and the ability to get some real cohesion in the group has disrupted everyone this season.

"Great for him today, I was really pleased for him, not just goals but his general was really good. He's important for us as a wide player there aren't many around that are a constant goal threat like he is. I'm really pleased for him today."

He added: "With Brennan he's always in the areas we need him to be. He's probably one of the most disciplined players we have in terms of making sure he's always in the right positions and that's why he gets his goals.

"There have been times this season when his form has suffered because of the team more than anything else. I think like we played in the first half Brennan becomes a really important player for us as we're a constant threat, breaking lines, making half-space runs, we were getting balls into the box in the areas we need to and every time we went forward we looked like scoring.

"If we do that then I think it's not a matter of confidence for Brennan, it just gives you more opportunities as the one thing about him is that he will always be in those positions, so it's up to us to match his discipline in that."

If Tottenham can replicate their first-half performance against Southampton and supply Johnson with the ball in the right positions then he could be a pivotal figure in their Europa League double-header against Eintracht Frankfurt. Considering their mixed form throughout the 2024/25 campaign, Spurs, now more than ever, need the Wales international to be a huge weapon in the penalty box as they look to end the season with the Europa League trophy in their possession.

Hopefully this is just the start of things to come from Johnson in the run-in.

Spurs' selection choices vs Chelsea, key player fitness & the loan latest - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Southampton's relegation from the Premier League has been sealed following their defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, making them the earliest team to be relegated with as many as seven matches still to play.

The Saints set a new unwanted record for early relegation previously held by Ipswich and Derby County who were relegated with six games remaining in 1994/95 and 2007/08 seasons respectively.

Spurs' Brennan Johnson netted a brace before half-time and while Lucas Bergvall's effort was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check, it didn't alter Southampton's collapse to their 25th loss of the campaign. A late goal from Matheus Fernandes led to ironic cheers of 'We are staying up' from Southampton fans, but the descent was inevitable when Johnson was fouled in the box during injury time allowing Mathys Tel to score, despite Johnson being on the verge of a hat-trick.

The Saints now aim to avoid breaking the record for the lowest points tally in a Premier League season, a dubious honour currently held by the 11-point finish of Derby in 2007/08, with Southampton just one point behind at present, reports the Mirror.

Juric is fully aware of that, telling the media before Wednesday's home match against Crystal Palace: "I don't want it to be that we are the worst team in the history of Premier League."

Despite Saints' poor showing, they are only the joint-fourth earliest relegation in Premier League history. They share this dubious distinction with Derby who dropped on March 29, Huddersfield Town relegated on March 30 in the 2018/19 season, Fulham on April 2 of the same year, and Leicester City's 2001/02 squad who met their fate on April 6, matching Southampton's timeline.

The fellow newly-promoted sides last summer, Ipswich and Leicester City, are also facing a likely drop to the Championship after Wolves clinched victory at Portman Road on Saturday, widening the safety margin to an ominous 12 points.

Ange Postecoglou is speaking to the media in his post-match press conference following the 3-1 win against Southampton.

Fresh from the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on Thursday evening, the Spurs boss made three changes to his side as Pedro Porro, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson came in.

It was Johnson who scored the opening goal of the contest as he was in the right position in the box to convert high into the roof of the net from Djed Spence's pull back.

Spurs were dominant in possession and Lucas Bergvall was denied a goal following a long VAR check after he had touched home Cristian Romero's header.

The hosts did double their lead on the stroke of half-time as Johnson smartly found the bottom corner with his right foot from James Maddison's header.

Tottenham did push on for more goals after the break and added a third courtesy of Mathys Tel's penalty moments after Mateus Fernandes had halved the deficit.

Our Spurs correspondent Rob Guest is at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and is among those putting the questions to the head coach. Scroll down for the latest updates from the press conference.

Tottenham returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a much-needed 3-1 victory over Southampton. On the losing side on Thursday evening away at Chelsea, Ange Postecoglou made three changes to his team to face Saints with the upcoming Europa League tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in mind.

Micky van de Ven was one of those to drop out of the team as Ben Davies came in, with Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson replacing Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert. Tottenham did start rather brightly and deservedly took the lead on 13 minutes with Johnson finishing in style in the box.

They went very close to doubling their advantage on 27 minutes but Cristian Romero's header struck Aaron Ramsdale flush in the face when on course to convert Porro's cross to the back post. Lucas Bergvall did have the ball in the net towards the end of the first half but he was denied a first Premier League goal following a lengthy VAR check that lasted just under five minutes.

Tottenham didn't have to wait too much longer to gain a two-goal cushion as Johnson smartly finished off James Maddison's header on 42 minutes. Mateus Fernandes gave Saints late hope with a powerful drive that Guglielmo Vicario couldn't keep out but Mathys Tel was to restore the two-goal advantage from the penalty spot.

Here is how we rated the Tottenham players in the game against Southampton:

Guglielmo Vicario

Very little to do in the first half and it was much of the same after the break until Kamaldeen Sulemana tested him at his near post and Yukinari Sugawara let one fly late on. Quiet afternoon for the Italian on the whole given he was relatively untroubled for the vast majority of the contest. 7

Pedro Porro

Returned to the team after taking his place on the bench at Chelsea and got a vital touch on the ball to deflect Sulemana's effort against the post. Put in two excellent deliveries that Romero almost converted with his head. Strong display from the Spaniard. 7

Cristian Romero

Was unlucky not to score inside the opening ten minutes with a powerful header from Porro's corner that Ramsdale saved and went close midway through the first half as the goalkeeper took his header flush in the face after Porro picked him out again. Got Spurs moving for their first goal and played a part with his head in the goal that Bergvall saw chalked off. Went on a big upfield run early in the second half but unfortunately lost the ball outside the Saints box. Impressive outing. 8

Ben Davies

Came into the starting XI to partner Romero and had very little to do with Saints just not threatening the hosts. Solid when required. 6

Djed Spence

Switched across to left-back and got an assist to his name for Johnson's opener with a fine pull back for his teammate. Had plenty of opportunities to attack and forced Ramsdale into a save just before the break. Unaware of Fernandes' presence for Saints' goal at the end. 6

Rodrigo Bentancur

Used the ball well in the middle of the park and put in some good tackles to ensure Southampton didn't get much joy. Replaced just before the hour mark. 6

Lucas Bergvall

Involved in the action throughout and was denied a goal following a VAR check that deemed Romero to be offside prior to the Swede touching the ball home. 7

James Maddison

Played his part in Tottenham's opening goal after spreading the ball wide to Son Heung-min and then got an assist for Johnson's second following a smart header. Showcased his talent early in the second half with some great footwork and a switch of play to Son. Decent performance from the midfielder. 7

Brennan Johnson

Was given the nod over Wilson Odobert on the right flank and had a shot blocked by Ryan Manning early on. Converted his next attempt high into the top corner after expertly teaming up with Spence and then added a second close to half-time with a lovely finish following some smart movement. Denied the chance of scoring a hat-trick as Tel took Tottenham's penalty in stoppage time. 8

Dominic Solanke

Worked hard up front and was denied a goal after a strong save low down by Ramsdale. 7

Son Heung-min

Had a role to play in Johnson's first goal after linking up with Spence and saw an effort blocked early in the second half after some wonderful play from Maddison. Replaced just before the hour mark with Thursday's game against Eintracht Frankfurt clearly in mind. 6

Substitutes

Pape Matar Sarr (Rodrigo Bentancur, 57)

Introduced just before the hour mark. 5

Wilson Odobert (Son Heung-min, 57)

Took his place on the left flank and went on a couple of runs. 5

Yves Bissouma (Lucas Bergvall, 79)

On for the final ten minutes and teed Solanke up for a chance. 5

Archie Gray (James Maddison, 79)

Took his place in midfield for the closing stages. 5

Mathys Tel (Dominic Solanke, 87)

Given a matter of minutes up front at the end and netted from the penalty spot. 5

Spurs' selection choices vs Chelsea, key player fitness & the loan latest - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

The Premier League have jumped in to clear up why Lucas Bergvall was denied his goal during Tottenham's clash with Southampton.

Ange Postecoglou's side will be hoping to build some momentum with victory over the division's basement boys ahead of a crucial Europa League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Lilywhites raced ahead through Brennan Johnson but were quickly denied a second, shortly after, as Bergvall converted inside the area following Son Heung-min's cross.

But after Cristian Romero made first contact with the ball, it was adjudged that the Argentine had indeed gone a little too early.

The decision seemed harsh given Romero was only fractionally offside but, after a quick replay by the VAR official Graham Scott, the goal was chalked off and a statement from the Premier League was quickly released.

"VAR checked the referee's call of goal - and established that Romero was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed," the communication read via X (was Twitter).

It was only a matter of time, however, before Tottenham added a second as Johnson scored a second and doubled his side's lead, sweeping home James Maddison's delivery.

Southampton mustered up little fight as they registered just one shot in the first 45 minutes of the contest.

In what has been a difficult campaign Edin Terzic's squad are now, almost certainly, guaranteed an instant return to the EFL Championship next season.

Spurs will be bidding to add further misery during the second period, especially given the strength of the line-up in north London this afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou has made three changes to his Tottenham team for Sunday's Premier League clash against Southampton. It is a vitally important game for Spurs as they look to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea and also try build some momentum going into their Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt next week.

The north London club head into the Southampton game 16th in the Premier League table after both Everton and West Ham picked up a point on Saturday afternoon. As a result of Wolves' late win at Ipswich Town, Spurs are now only two points ahead of Vitor Pereira's side in 17th prior to their game against the West Midlands club at Molineux next Sunday.

Ahead of the Eintracht Frankfurt European tie in midweek, Postecoglou, as expected, has made changes to his Tottenham team for this afternoon's game. Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Wilson Odobert have dropped out of the team from the Chelsea defeat, with Pedro Porro, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson coming into the XI.

Richarlison has returned to the matchday squad for the first time since injuring his calf in the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at Liverpool at the beginning of February. The Brazilian has been named on the bench to begin with.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, the Australian revealed that he wouldn't make too many changes for the Southampton match. Asked about rotation, he 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."

Here is the Tottenham XI he has selected to take on Southampton:

Confirmed Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Davies, Spence; Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Substitutes: Kinsky, Udogie, Van de Ven, Sarr, Bissouma, Gray, Odobert, Tel, Richarlison.

Spurs' selection choices vs Chelsea, key player fitness & the loan latest - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action on Sunday afternoon with the visit of Southampton. Ange Postecoglou's men continue to be in the spotlight following another uninspiring performance in midweek.

Spurs lost 1-0 to Chelsea and - as a result of Saturday's results - they have fallen down to 16th in the table. Wolves are just two points behind them but, fortunately, the bottom three are way off.

With a Europa League quarter-final also awaiting them on Thursday night, Tottenham could do with a confidence booster ahead of the visit of Eintracht Frankfurt. They come up against a Southampton team facing the possibility of becoming the worst side in Premier League history.

Here, football.london takes a look at all the information needed to watch the game;

What time does Spurs vs Southampton kick-off?

The match will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is scheduled for 2pm. It is one of four Premier League games taking place throughout an the day.

Brentford host Chelsea and Liverpool take on Fulham at the same time (2pm) as Tottenham. The Manchester derby between Manchester United and Manchester City follows at 4.30pm.

Is Spurs vs Southampton being shown live on TV in the UK?

No, the meeting with Southampton has not been selected for live television coverage in the United Kingdom. Liverpool's trip to Fulham is Sky Sports' 2pm game with the Manchester derby following it.

Highlights of the action will be available to watch on Match of the Day 2, which will broadcast on BBC One at 10.30pm.

How to live stream Spurs vs Southampton and watch the game abroad

Even though the game is not being broadcasted live in the UK, that's not the case in other countries.

In the United States, for instance, fans will be able to watch the match live on Peacock.

Optus Sport will be broadcasting the showdown in Australia, while Viaplay are also covering the content in the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Across the Middle East, it will be available via beIN Sports.

How else to follow the Spurs game

For supporters who prefer to listen to games, you can do so on BBC Radio 5 Live. Visit the BBC website for more information. talkSPORT will also provide live commentary, as will BBC London 94.9 and BBC Radio Solent.

TV channel

Tottenham fans unable to make the trip to N17 for today's game will unfortunately not be able to watch all the action live on TV in the UK.

Spurs' game against Southampton was not chosen to be broadcast live on TV, with Fulham vs Liverpool instead the 2pm selection on Sky Sports.

You can keep with us right here in our live blog for match updates across the course of the afternoon.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to football.london's live coverage of Tottenham's Premier League encounter against Southampton.

It is a huge day for Ange Postecoglou and his side after tasting defeat away to Chelsea on Thursday evening.

Three points are an absolute must for the Lilywhites, especially with a European tie to come against Eintracht Frankfurt next Thursday.

Stay tuned for all the latest news ahead of the 2pm kick-off in north London.

Tottenham face arguably their easiest game of the Premier League season on paper today, with Spurs welcoming Southampton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A 1-0 loss to Chelsea midweek means that Spurs entered the weekend 14th in the Premier League table, with the 16th league loss of the season meaning Ange Postecoglou's side are without a win in their last four Premier League games. Next up for Spurs is a clash against bottom-of-the-league Southampton, with the Saints striving to not have the worst points record in Premier League history.

It should be a straightforward win for Spurs, but as we've already seen this season against the likes of Leicester City and Ipswich, the Lilywhites are more than capable of falling short in what look to be easy fixtures. The last meeting between the two sides saw Spurs win 5-0 on the south coast, and Postecoglou will be hoping for a similar result this time out.

So, can Spurs pick up a much-needed win in the Premier League later today? Let's take a look.

We simulated Tottenham vs Southampton to get a score prediction

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.

We predict that Spurs could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Davies, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Tel.

We predict that the Saints could line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Sugawara, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Wellington; Dibling, Fernandes; Onuachu.

Spurs were in control as soon as the first whistle went, but 34 minutes in, Southampton took a shock lead when Tyler Dibling's driven cross into the box was turned home by Joe Aribo. The goal was against the run of play, but just before half-time, Postecoglou's side were able to draw level and spare themselves an awkward half-time team talk.

Brennan Johnson was a constant threat for Spurs, and the winger used his pace to burst away from his marker and fire a cross into the box. Dominic Solanke picked up the ball on the turn, and a perfectly placed finish saw the striker find the top corner to make it 1-1 going into the break.

Moments after the restart, Spurs went ahead for the first time, with Mathys Tel pouncing on a spill from Aaron Ramsdale to tap into an empty net from six yards out. Now behind, any Southampton confidence seemed to disappear, and the three points were wrapped up for the hosts in the 72nd minute when Johnson got on the scoresheet.

Another mazy run from the winger saw him break into the box before flicking the ball to Pape Sarr, and from a narrow-angle, the midfielder's shot was well saved by the 'keeper. Fortunately for Spurs, the ball bounced to the feet of Johnson, and the Welshman powered a strike into the net to make it 3-1 and secure a much-needed win for the Lilywhites.

EA FC 25 predicted final score: Tottenham 3-1 Southampton