Prediction: Tottenham vs Southampton

Prediction: Tottenham win

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: bet365

While the winter break may have come into effect for the Premier League, there are still a few loose ends that need tightening up: and that includes in the FA Cup. Today we’re going to be taking a look at the clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, following on from their draw in the initial fourth round tie. Both teams are starting to build up some momentum, but only one can progress into the last 16 of football’s oldest club competition.

Tottenham

Tottenham fans may not always enjoy the style that Jose Mourinho plays with, but it’s certainly proving to be more effective than the way they were playing in the months prior under Mauricio Pochettino. With a few new faces to go alongside their more senior players, Spurs could be getting serious about mounting a challenge for the top four. Alongside that, of course, they’ve got the Champions League to worry about, which leaves us questioning where the FA Cup lands in their list of priorities.

Team News

Alli was forced off against Manchester City and probably won’t be risked whereas Sissoko, Kane and Davies are all still out of action. Bergwijn is ineligible to feature as he joined the club after the first game between these two sides in the FA Cup.

Southampton

Southampton have played Spurs twice in a matter of weeks and haven’t lost, and while some will call them a bogey team, we just think they’ve improved substantially as the months have gone on this season. They’ve got the potential to cause some serious damage once again here and if they can get past a team like Tottenham, they will have every belief that they can make a run all the way through to Wembley.

Team News

Armstrong is out of action courtesy of a hip problem with the hope being that Yan Valery could be available for Ralph Hasenhuttl now that he’s back in training.

Factors to Consider

• In the initial tie, Tottenham and Southampton drew 1-1.
• Tottenham have won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six games.
• Southampton have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six games.
• Tottenham have scored seven goals and conceded four in their last six games.
• Southampton have scored nine goals and conceded nine in their last six games.

Conclusion

This game is going to serve as another big struggle for Tottenham as they try and push into the next round of the competition, but this time, we do think they’ll be able to edge out the Saints. We can see the visitors managing to score, and we can even see them controlling the pace of the game, but under someone like Jose Mourinho, you’d think Tottenham will be capable of overcoming them. It may not be pretty but it’s the sort of win Spurs need at this stage of the season to give themselves hope that winning a trophy is possible.

Prediction: Tottenham win

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: bet365