Saints or Spurs, FA Cup fourth-round replay
Southampton travel to London to face Spurs in the FA Cup fourth-round replay. Can either of these sides make a true charge for silverware this season? Have a read of our preview here:
Baling out
Transfer deadline day always has one story to capture the imagination and Spurs gave us that this year with reports they were chasing down the loan signing of Real Madrid and Wales winger Gareth Bale.
Daniel Levy even flew out to Madrid to have discussions with Florentino Perez about a deal but, in the end, it proved to be similar to much of Tottenham’s season so far, a big disappointment.
Harry Kane is still out which has left an over-reliance on Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen jumped ship to Inter Milan late in the window, however, Mourinho was pleased to see the club make Giovani Lo Celso’s move permanent and Dele Alli has been superb since the Portuguese coach took charge.
They may not prioritise the FA Cup, but they still put out a strong team in the first match-up and it is unlikely Mourinho won’t want to try and win this competition in his first season in charge.
They only question mark remains on how much Spurs are willing to risk with a Champions League place still in their sights. Wednesday night should give us that answer.
Repaying the faith
Southampton looked certain relegation fodder when they crashed to a 9-0 defeat against Leicester back in October. The board could easily have pulled the trigger and sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl or even done so when they lost the next two games as well.
However, a 2-2 draw at Arsenal was the catalyst for a big change in form and the club have since gone on a superb run, winning seven of their last 12 matches. This has pushed Saints well clear of the bottom three and has even put them in that group of clubs looking for a top half finish.
Danny Ings has been their key player, netting 14 goals in just 20 Premier League starts.
The former Burnley striker is oozing confidence and this has rubbed off on his teammates, helping them bag five wins in their last eight league games. They will believe they can get past Spurs having beaten them at St Marys on New Year’s day and this one should be a close-run thing.
Tottenham vs Southampton betting tip
Southampton’s improvements have been remarkable, and they could make a real charge to the cup this season while Spurs have their eyes fixed firmly on the chase for a top-four finish. It should be an open game, so we are backing both teams to score at odds of 4/5 with bet365.
