Tottenham take on Southampton at White Hart Lane this afternoon.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane goes off injured against Millwall
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur will beat Southampton 2-0 this afternoon – even without Harry Kane.
Spurs hammered Millwall 6-0 at White Hart Lane in last weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final clash, with Son Heung-min grabbing the headlines with a fine hat-trick.
However, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was handed a massive blow during that game, as Harry Kane suffered a major ankle injury that could keep him out of action for six weeks.
In a recurrence of his ankle injury from September, Kane – Tottenham’s top goalscorer this season with 24 goals in 29 games in all competitions – will miss a number of Spurs games, including today’s game with Southampton.
The Saints have their own prolific striker, as January signing Manolo Gabbiadini has hit six goals in just four appearances in all competitions since arriving from Napoli.
Claude Puel’s men have now won three of their last five Premier League games, scoring eight goals in their last two games – wins over Sunderland and Watford.
Mark Lawrenson
They should find today’s game much more difficult, with Spurs still unbeaten at White Hart Lane this season, and pundit Mark Lawrenson has offered his prediction to BBC Sport.
Lawrenson suggested that Spurs will undoubtedly miss Kane, but will cope well enough without him to beat Southampton 2-0, suggesting that the Saints are a ‘strange’ team due to their inconsistent results.
“Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been making all the right noises about how his side will cope without the injured Harry Kane, but they will undoubtedly miss him,” said Lawrenson. “Kane has been in brilliant form and part of what makes him so deadly is his ability to score goals out of nothing. Southampton are a strange team and very difficult to predict, but I am going to go for a scruffy Spurs win – even without Kane, they still should have enough,” he added.
What is your prediction for Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton?
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