Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The gap at the top between Premier League leaders Chelsea and Tottenham now stands at 13 points after Antonio Conte’s side won at Stoke yesterday. With that hurdle cleared even the most optimistic Spurs fan will have to admit that the gap is insurmountable, but that said there is still the race to the best of the rest and Today they play host to Southampton at White Hart Lane.
Although Mauricio Pochettino faces his former employers without his talisman Harry Kane, the Golden Boot winner from last season once again picked up an ankle injury in the 6-0 win over Millwall in the F.A. Cup Quarter Finals and is now on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
If there is good news to come out of that from the Tottenham camp it’s that the injury is not as bad as the one that Kane suffered earlier in the season against Sunderland which saw him miss a large amount of games at the end of last year.
That now means it’s down to the supporting cast to step up and do their job, a job they did well last week as none of the six goals that Tottenham scored were thanks to Kane, Heung-min Son went home with the match ball last Sunday and he will be rewarded with a start this Afternoon.
Vincent Janssen finally got the goal from open play that not only he but the Tottenham fans have been craving for so long, that will not be enough to warrant inclusion from the off Today but at least it is a well timed confidence boost for the Dutch international and shows that we do perhaps have an extra option should we require it.
You could argue that both Tottenham’s best performers this season are now out injured with Kane joining Danny Rose on the sidelines, that will undoubtedly be a blow while there are also late fitness tests for Kyle Walker and Victor Wanyama due to minor knocks.
If Tottenham have concerns about where the goals are going to come from then the same cannot be said for Southampton as they have a record making forward ready to add even more goals to his tally since joining the club in January.
Italian international Manolo Gabbiadini has taken to English football like a duck to water, Tottenham fans will almost point to him and say why could not Janssen have had that start but the former Napoli man was thrust straight into the team and has not looked back.
It’s 6 goals in his first 4 outings for the club, that in itself being a club record as he is the first player to have ever scored in his first four games for the South Coast side, while of course it should have been 7 but were it not for the incorrect offside call in the EFL Cup Final last month.
Southampton have certainly looked revitalised since the signing of Gabbiadini as he has played a part in back to back league wins for Claude Puel’s side. Those wins have not only seen them move up to 10th but also have seen them score 8 goals in two matches.
Their last league outing was a fortnight ago when they went to Vicarage Road and come out the better end of a 7 goals thriller with Watford, Tottenham perhaps will not give so much away today but a win for Southampton would see them leapfrog Stoke and move into 9th.
Tottenham do not have their talisman while Southampton seem to have theirs firing all on cylinders, that in itself balances the game out somewhat so a lot will be asked from the likes of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son to step up that extra level.
Southampton have had joy here recently as last season when there 2-1 win derailed Tottenham’s hopes of a runners up league place but Mauricio Pochettino exacted some revenge for that last Christmas as his men ran out 4-1 winners at St Mary’s
If Tottenham can keep Manolo Gabbiadini quiet then they will nullify a huge Southampton threat but that’s not to say he is the only one especially with the Saints recent goalscoring form, it really is going to depend on how much if at all the home side miss Harry Kane. I reckon it’s a both teams to score afternoon but Spurs edging it 2-1.
