Former Arsenal attacker and now a Sky Sports Pundit Paul Merson has predicted a clear win for Tottenham Hotspur when Southampton make a trip to Wembley on the Boxing Day.
The 49-year-old has predicted an easy 3-0 win for the Lilywhites against Southampton, who will be without some of the key figures in the fixture. The Saints are winless in their last six games, with their previous win coming against Everton on November 26. The absence of the likes of Charlie Austin and Virgil van Dijk will only add further misery to their fate.
The South Coast club currently sit at 13th place in the Premier League – just six points ahead of the last placed Swansea City – and have been completely anonymous this season. Tottenham, on the other hand, have had their own set of problems, but Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min’s recent form has been breathtaking, to say the least.
The former scored a hat-trick against Burnley on Saturday and equalled Alan Shearer’s record for most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year. Besides, the Englishman now has 53 goals for club and country in 2017 and is on level terms with the likes of Edinson Cavani (PSG), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid). He only needs a goal to equal Lionel Messi’s figures and a brace means he will be the top scorer of 2017. Hence, it won’t be an easy task for the Saints to stop this Tottenham unit.
Southampton, on the other hand, will be without their number one striker Charlie Austin who has been charged by the FA with violent conduct after he kicked Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl in the face in their previous fixture. Furthermore, their wantaway defender Virgil van Dijk was not even picked for their matchday squad and is expected to be out yet again with a potential linkup with Liverpool and Manchester City doing rounds.
With all this said and done, Merson has predicted an easy victory for Tottenham and if his prediction is anything to go by, we might see Harry Kane creating history at the Wembley.
“They absolutely ripped Burnley apart, considering what Burnley have been doing and considering they had not won away from home since September, it was a big result. Southampton have gone – no Charlie Austin, no Virgil van Dijk, so I cannot see anything other than a Tottenham win,” he said on the Sky Sports website.
Let’s hope Harry Kane breaks the record and even overtake Leo Messi to finish as the top scorer of the calendar year.
