Opponent Watch: A look at Southampton’s absentees from matchday squad vs Tottenham

Southampton Team News and Injury latest ahead of Premier League clash vs Tottenham Hotspur

According to news on HampshireLive, Southampton have to deal with a number of absentees in their team when they take on Tottenham Hotspur later today in the Premier League. The former will host the match at St. Mary’s Stadium and will hope to take some points away from the resurgent visitors.

Both teams had little to no time for recovery since their respective matches on Boxing Day and would look to rotate the squad due to the lack of adequate time between their previous fixtures. The Saints will miss Lyanco and Jack Stephens through Covid, with the duo testing positive late last week.

Alex McCarthy is still recovering from hamstring problems whereas dynamic winger Moussa Djenepo is away with the Mali national team in preparation for the 2021 African Cup of Nations. Nathan Tella, however, would be in contention for the game, having tested positive for Covid over a week ago.

Boost for Spurs?

There could be further changes in the matchday squad when the club releases official information close to kick-off time, which is 03:00 PM GMT today. Daily testing is taking place, which means there are chances of positive cases getting identified even before the match.

It would be a welcome boost for Spurs as they also have a couple of omissions in their own squad. Cristian Romero is still on the sidelines due to the injury that he picked up with Argentina during the international break. Ryan Sessegnon also joins him in the stands whereas Giovani Lo Celso has a minor calf issue and would need assessment ahead of the match.

We would gladly welcome any advantage that we can get considering the amount of time, or the lack of it, we had to prepare for this game. That does not mean we should take them lightly as they have troubled teams high above them on the table this season.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side is 14th in the league table with 20 points from 18 matches and would look to use St. Mary’s atmosphere to their advantage. They need all the points they can get to further distance from the relegation zone and climb up to the top half of the table.

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Antonio Conte would hope that his team can carry on the fine form they have built since late November. With 29 points from 16 matches, we are currently in a comfortable position with respect to the race for a top 4 finish.

We also have a few games in hand, and winning them would certainly bolster even further up the table. We won 5-2 at St. Mary’s last season and did the league double over the Saints after a 2-1 win at home. A repeat of what would be just what the doctor ordered.