Paul Merson has predicted Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton.
Spurs kick off their Premier League campaign with a visit of the Saints on Saturday afternoon.
It’s often said there’s no easy games in this competition and although that’s true, some are definitely easier than others and welcoming Southampton is, on paper, less worrisome than away to Liverpool on the first weekend of the season, for example.
And Merson is certainly predicting a straightforward victory, saying that he feels Tottenham will win 2-0.
He told Sportskeeda: “I don’t think Southampton will do too well in the Premier League this season, but I’ve got a sneaky feeling about this game. I do like the way Tottenham have bought, though, and I think they’ll be able to win this game.
“Tottenham have done well in pre-season. They’ve bought phenomenally well, and now they need to get these players together as a team. In the Premier League, you don’t get too long. If you take too much time, you end up finding yourself six points behind the rest of the pack.”
Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
The Lilywhites have certainly bought extremely well in the transfer window.
Problem is, some of them are unavailable tomorrow.
Richarlison is banned for a flare-related incident toward the end of Everton’s relegation battle last season, while Ivan Perisic and Yves Bissouma are likely absent for injury reasons, with the latter missing a chunk of pre-season training due to COVID.
Hugo Lloris will start ahead of Fraser Forster and Clement Lenglet and Djed Spence might join the big goalkeeper on the bench, too.
Really, it could be the same Spurs XI that helped Antonio Conte’s side finish in the top four last season with some brilliant end-of-season form, but even that ought to be enough to see off Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side.
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