Tottenham will hope to continue their recent winning run as they take on Southampton this weekend, less than a month after beating the Saints 5-2 at Wembley.
Harry Kane broke the long-standing record for goals scored in a calendar year, as he netted a hat-trick in a fantastic win on Boxing day. Spurs have returned to that sort of form in the past two weeks. Ahead of the game on Sunday, manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is a doubt for the encounter due to illness.
The club are monitoring his condition ahead of the trip to St. Mary’s and Pochettino is unsure if the Frenchman will be fit for the game.
“I don’t know. It’s difficult to say,” Pochettino was quoted by Sky Sports.
“We need to wait today and tomorrow and then tomorrow we’ll assess him if he’s available or not. I think it’s flu or a virus.”
Meanwhile, defender Toby Alderweireld has returned to training and could play in the FA Cup next weekend, according to our manager. Spurs had expected Alderweireld to be out until February with a hamstring injury but Pochettino has indicated that the Belgian is on track for an early comeback against Newport.
Alderweireld has not played since injuring his knee against Real Madrid in the Champions League at the start of November. His swift recovery is particularly timely for us as we play Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus in the next four weeks.
Asked whether Alderweireld could be available for the Newport game, Pochettino said: “Maybe, maybe. We are going to have all week for training so we can see if he can arrive in a good condition to play. We are going to assess day-by-day next week.”
“Today all is okay with him, maybe tomorrow he can integrate himself in some exercises with the group and a little bit step-by-step to build his fitness to be available again.
“He will do a warm-up with the team, the first exercise and to be integrated gradually with the group and we will see next week if he can improve and then be ready as soon as possible.”
Danny Rose is sidelined with a knee injury, while Harry Winks continues to struggle with a niggling ankle problem.
A win at Southampton would take us level on points with Liverpool. It would put us in a really good position in the fight for a top-4 finish. The Reds would surely face the pressure if we grab a win tomorrow against the Saints.
