Tottenham Hotspur take on Southampton in the Premier League this afternoon.
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur will beat Southampton 2-0 at Wembley Stadium this afternoon.
Spurs had been heavily criticised following their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, but bounced back on Saturday evening with a 3-0 thrashing of Burnley at Turf Moor.
Harry Kane was the hero in East Lancashire, smashing a hat-trick to give Spurs a much-needed win, taking them back up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men will now be hoping to go on a run of good form after some patchy performances, and today they take on a Southampton side who aren’t in the best form themselves.
The Saints drew 1-1 at home with Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon, with Laurent Depoitre cancelling out Charlie Austin’s opener – and Southampton will be without Austin today due to a combination of injury and suspension.
With one point from the last three games, Southampton are just three points clear of the relegation zone, and the pressure is starting to mount on manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
The Argentinian left Virgil van Dijk out of his squad on Saturday amid speculation over the defender’s future, and pundit Mark Lawrenson believes more questions will be asked of Pellegrino if Van Dijk is left out again today.
Lawrenson, speaking to BBC Sport, noted that Pellegrino is under mounting pressure, and predicted that Spurs will claim a 2-0 win after their morale-boosting win over Burnley just days ago.
“The vultures are circling a little bit around Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino, whose side have won only one of their past 10 Premier League games,” said Lawrenson. “It is a tough ask for Saints to get back to winning ways in this game, although going to Wembley might help them – it definitely concentrates the mind because it is a special place and different to going to another ground. Not many teams have gone there this season and not put on some kind of performance – apart from Liverpool and Stoke. I still think Tottenham will win, though. Their win and performance against Burnley on Saturday kind of lifted the gloom that had just started to descend on their season.”
“In many ways the bigger story for Southampton on Boxing Day might be where will Virgil van Dijk be? The Dutch defender was left on the bench against Chelsea in midweek and did not even make the squad for Saturday’s draw with Huddersfield. If the decision is tactical, which is how Pellegrino has explained it, then fine. But I don’t get how leaving him out of the squad completely is tactical? Everyone knows there is history here, with Van Dijk wanting to leave last summer. If the speculation over his future is affecting him again, then Pellegrino might be better off just coming out and saying it, because the questions are going to keep coming for as long as he is left out – especially if they lose against Spurs,” he added.
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