BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: St Mary’s Stadium Date: Sunday, 28 October KO 15:00
TEAM NEWS
Southampton will again be without record signing Gaston Ramirez due to a thigh injury.
Tadanari Lee has recovered from an elbow injury, while teenage defender Luke Shaw may make his league debut.
Tottenham’s Gareth Bale will return against his previous club, having missed two matches following the birth of his first child.
Emmanuel Adebayor has overcome a back problem, while Mousa Dembele (hip) and Michael Dawson (illness) hope to play.
MATCH PREVIEW
The excitement of successive promotions and a return to the Premier League has rapidly disappeared for Southampton. Their dream has become a nightmare.
Last weekend’s latest capitulation at fellow newcomers West Ham was another hefty upper-cut to the jaw, conceding four at Upton Park probably more unacceptable than the six they let-in at Arsenal in September. Three different goalkeepers have been used but they’re all suffering with bad backs from picking the ball out of the net far too often.
Inevitably the pressure is mounting on manager Nigel Adkins. He admits he’s unsure how long he’s got left but after what he’s achieved in two remarkable years surely he has earned the right to see this through?
The owners remain quiet and maybe the last thing he needs is the dreaded vote of confidence. Instead, he should be heartened by a poll in this week’s local paper in which 78% of the supporters offered their backing.
St Mary’s Stadium has been a horror venue for Tottenham. Five visits there have brought five defeats and no goals. However another blank would seem most unlikely as Spurs have scored in every game this season and hit a combined six goals in their recent away wins at Manchester United and Reading.
There may be some heavy legs following Thursday’s Europa League tie against Maribor in Slovenia but manager Andre Villas-Boas will be able to freshen up his starting XI. Friedel, Gallas and Dempsey should all be back, but it’s the return of Gareth Bale that is most intriguing. His career began in Southampton stripes as a slight 16-year-old and, after his brilliant season was put on hold last Saturday as he became a father for the first time, he’ll be keen to be back with a bang and prove he’s the “daddy” in more ways than one.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
This is their first meeting since March 2005 when Southampton, then managed by Harry Redknapp, won 1-0 at St Mary’s courtesy of a goal from Nigel Quashie.
Tottenham have lost all five visits to the St Mary’s Stadium, failing to score a goal. All four league games ended 1-0 to the hosts, who also enjoyed a 4-0 win in the FA Cup in 2003.
The last time Tottenham scored away at Southampton was in 1999, when Oyvind Leonhardsen’s goal secured a 1-0 win.
Southampton
The 24 goals conceded by Southampton after eight games is a Premier League record. The last top-flight team to concede as many at this stage was Wolves in 1963.
Southampton have had 50 shots on target against them this season, more than any other team in the top flight.
The Saints are the only top-flight side to have been behind at some point in all eight of their league games this season.
They have four points from their first eight games – one less than at the same stage of the 2004-05 season in which they were relegated.
Tottenham
Defeat by Chelsea last weekend was their first loss in nine matches in all competitions since losing on the first day of the season against Newcastle.
Only five goals have been scored in the first half of Tottenham’s eight league matches this season, but 22 goals have been scored after half time.
Spurs have scored an unrivalled five league goals in the 15 minutes straight after half-time this season.
Tottenham and their north London rivals Arsenal have allowed their opponents the least number of shots (81) in the top flight this season.
Gareth Bale made his professional debut for Southampton at the age of 16 years and 275 days in a Championship game against Millwall in April 2006. He played 45 times for the Saints, scoring five goals, before moving to Spurs in May 2007.
BBC Sport