Former defender Mark Lawrenson has backed Tottenham Hotspur to return to Premier League action with a bang against Southampton, despite Mauricio Pochettino appearing disillusioned, as noted in his weekly predictions for BBC Sport.
Spurs were beaten on the road last time out in the top-flight, as second-half goals by Leicester City duo Ricardo Pereira and James Maddison overturned Harry Kane’s 29th-minute opener on a day the Video Assistant Referee ruled out two strikes.
Tottenham’s miserable week then continued in the Carabao Cup when they travelled to Colchester United, where the League Two side would emerge victorious on penalties and Kane would later reveal his disappointment over how the season has started to Sky Sports News (via Metro).
Lawrenson feels issues are starting to build behind the scenes in North London, as well, where Christian Eriksen has been said to be running his contract down so he is able to sign a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid in January ahead of a free summer move (Mirror).
Nevertheless, the BBC Sport pundit has backed Spurs to beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints on home soil come Saturday afternoon.
“I think Tottenham will be back with a bang this week, because they are a long way off being in crisis,” Lawrenson noted, as he predicted a 3-0 win for Pochettino’s men.
“Mauricio Pochettino did look somewhat disillusioned after last weekend’s defeat by Leicester, and it does appear something is going on behind the scenes. But that doesn’t stop the players from performing, and they should be too strong for Southampton.
“A comfortable win would go a long way to solving Spurs’ problems.”
While Lawrenson has predicted a 3-0 win, Tottenham fans should not expect a flurry of goals scored to be guaranteed, as while Southampton conceded three in their first road game of the term, Hasenhuttl’s Saints have since kept four straight clean sheets when away from home across all competitions.
That said, Spurs have been in fine form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, with three scored against Aston Villa and four hit past Crystal Palace.
Southampton have also allowed an average of 13 shots on goal while at Burnley, Brighton and Sheffield United, and Tottenham are boasting 20.3SPG when on home soil in North London, per WhoScored, so chances should not be at a premium.
Tottenham fans, how many goals are you expecting to see on Saturday? Let us know in the comments below…
