please log in to view this image Wednesday 28th December 7.45pm Premier League St Mary's Stadium Back-to-back home wins have been our response to our recent away losses. Much needed, but against sides that we'd be expected to beat and this will be a sterner test. We've lost our last two away games, admittedly to very good opposition, so we need to get back on track. The Goons had this post-Christmas fixture in the last campaign and it did a lot of damage to their season. Our hosts have had a fairly good season so far, despite narrowly being eliminated from the Europa League. They're in 7th place in the Premier League and have progressed to the semi-final of the League Cup. Another victory against Arsenal at St Mary's put the through in that trophy, which should tell us something. Their recent loss at Selhurst Park has been the only real blip in their league form for some time. We started our trip to St Mary's very poorly last season, coming into the game on the back of a loss. The ball wouldn't stick up front and our defence looked quite vulnerable, calling on Lloris quite a bit. The game turned just before half-time though, as Kane scored a wonderful opener. Alli doubled the lead shortly afterwards, as the home side fell apart at the back. The second half was a virtual stroll, as our hosts never looked like they were going to recover. The game at WHL was almost a mirror of that one, unfortunately. We started brightly and even took the lead through Son, taking advantage of the Saints defence. He slotted home as they all waited for an offside flag that never came. Our end of season form continued though, as we allowed Steven Davis to score twice. He leveled things up before the break, as Walker lay prone from a head injury. The players didn't seem to come out for the second half and they allowed the same player to score again. No suspensions for this one and it's the last game before the cut-off for five yellows, IIRC. Lamela will still miss out through injury, but it looks like everyone else should be available. Southampton have no suspensions, but they do have a handful of injuries. Clasie, Targett, Austin and Pied are out, while McCarthy is doubtful. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Winks; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Davies, Sissoko, N'Koudou, Son. League form: WLWLWW. Saints: Forster; Bertrand, Van Dijk, Yoshida, Soares; Clasie, Hojbjerg, Reed; Boufal, Redmond, Rodriguez. Subs: Taylor, Martina, Fonte, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Long. League form: DWLWDW. Referee: Mike Dean. TV: Sky Sports 1. Assuming that Alderweireld is fit for this one, how should we switch things around? Should Dier play at centre-half, holding midfield or be left on the bench? Did Winks do enough to keep his place and should Sissoko start, following his success from the bench?
TEAM NEWS: Toby and Dembele are back after missing the Burnley game with minor knocks. Danny 'Boy Wonder' Rose is also fully fit. Apparently Janssen has been back in full training since the same game and is expected to feature on the bench. Lamela is our only absentee - and I am getting a bit concerned at the length of time it is taking him to recover from what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill back sprain.
Thanks for the great match day thread, PNP. While he has been a very good DM, I'm beginning to wonder if Wanyama is the best fit for this team. We might be better off trading a little destruction for a bit of creation. In any case, having almost everyone available makes selection harder. While the front four and back four may be hard to argue with (unless we go with three at the back) there are any number of combinations we might try in the "2". Any combination of Dier, Dembele, Sissoko, Winks or even Eriksen would get the ball forward faster. Against most teams I’d go for three at the back, with Eriksen in the hole and Kane and Son up front. At St. Mary’s, I think I’d go 4-2-3-1 with Dembele and Sissoko in front of the back four.
I agree about swapping destruction for creation, RWAEB. We need to win and need goals. Simple as that. The other results over Christmas have not gone our way, and saints are good defensively only conceding more than us and Chelsea. On the other hand, they haven't scored many either, so it makes no sense in playing so defensively. We need to play some sort of 3-5-2 again today IMO, with Rose and Walker causing the damage again. If we revert to a 4231, I think we'll find the likes of Eriksen, Dembele, Alli, Kane etc just passing the ball from one side of the box to the other, inflicting no damage. We need pace to beat the likes of Bertrand and co out wide, otherwise we're gonna be forced into shots from outside of the box, or an intricate passing game with no cutting edge. - and we all know how frustrating and ineffective that can be! Lloris Toby dier vertonghen Walker Dembele winks Rose Ali Eriksen Kane (Or something similar)
Alright, you’ve convinced me. I hadn’t bothered to find out that Saints had given up so few goals. I thought 4-2-3-1 might work because Saints will come at us at their place. But three at the back gets Dier into the game and might be the way forward for us. It will be harsh on either Alli or Son, unless we try Eriksen farther back, which I think is a great idea except against more aggressive teams. I’d still take Sissoko over Winks tonight. Sissoko has had a good run and might pair well with Dembele. Bring Winks in if Sissoko doesn’t work out.
I wouldn't drop Winks for anyone right now. He's been a breath of fresh air in our midfield since cementing his place. There's something a little different about his game that other teams aren't used to, and I think it's proving to be a big advantage for us in midfield ATM.
Hugo Dier Toby Jan Walker Winks Wanyama Rose Sissoko Eriksen Kane For me. Waiting for SOS to disagree and avert the armageddon.
I wouldn't be against this either. Sissoko for Alli isn't a bad shout. Sissoko has began to turn it around in the last few games, where as Alli needs a kick up the arse. Still not sure about leaving Dembele out. I think this is the sort of game where we need him, and where he'll thrive.
Dembele has looked well off the pace recently. Injuries and suspensions have meant that he hasn't really had the opportunity to build up a head of steam. Winks is one of the few in-form players and therefore cannot be dropped. Wanyama has been excellent for us - I think the fatigue and mistakes that started creeping in before xmas was more down to sheer exhaustion than him 'not fitting our system'. He's had a decent rest since Burnley and I think should start.
Eriksen Kane Son looked good with three at the back. I agree Alli’s in something of a sophomore slump. Walker and Rose open the field up, and Alli, like Lamela, seems to lack confidence finishing.
It'll be hard for Saints fans to see their academy product and longest-serving defender Toby Alderweireld line up to play against his childhood club. Shame that. I still can't get my head around how generous Soton were with the transfer funds - apparently they heard about the dire economic situation in Spain and decided to donate every penny to a grassroots club in Madrid. Good on 'em!
Seen some horrible facts. Apparently (other than Chelsea) the last team to beat saints at their place was us... in December 2015. They also haven't conceded a goal at home since 30th October. If there was ever a match for us NOT to faff about on the edge of the box and pass it sideways, it's tonight's game. Rose and Walker causing mayhem down the flanks please, Poch.