Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale Reuters

Southampton face Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon, against the backdrop of Gareth Bale, a graduate from the Saints' academy, gearing up for his 200th game for Spurs. The reverse fixture at St Mary's ended finished 2-1 to the north London side, with Bale and Clint Dempsey scoring for the win.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 3pm BST. Catch highlights on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 10.30pm BST.

Overview

Spurs were forced to settle for a late and fortunate draw against Wigan Athletic in their last game, with Emmerson Boyce scoring an own goal in the final minutes of a 2-2 result. The stalemate leaves Andre Villas-Boas in fifth and out of the Champions League positions for next season. And with an all-important game against former club Chelsea on Wednesday, the Portuguese knows three points against Southampton is an absolute minimum.

The draw against Wigan, however, means Spurs continue their unbeaten run. They have not lost a game since Fulham beat them in mid-March and the run of six games includes a stirring 3-1 home win over former champions Manchester City two weeks ago. That run, coupled with a reasonably good home record of nine wins and only three defeats in 17 games so far, should be good news for Tottenham fans.

The three-way race for the two final Champions League spot includes Arsenal. The Gunners face a disjointed, dispirited and already relegated QPR in their weekend tie, so it should be safe to assume Arsene Wenger will pick up another three points.

Meanwhile, Southampton travel after a horrible 0-3 home defeat to West Brom last weekend. The loss means the Saints tread water seven points above the relegation zone but with only four games left for Wigan in 18th (and three for Southampton), Mauricio Pochettino's first season in charge in England is unlikely to end in relegation.

A win would be nice though, with the loss to the Baggies ending a glorious run of six games unbeaten; the run included fantastic home wins over Chelsea and Liverpool.

Team Form

Tottenham Hotspur

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): D W D D D
  • Last Match: Wigan Athletic 2 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L D D W W
  • Last Match: Southampton 0 - 3 West Bromwich Albion

Team News

Spurs have no significant injury problems for this game, aside from the already injured Sandro (knee), Younes Kaboul (knee) and William Gallas (calf). Bale will be the focal point once again, with the Real Madrid transfer target likely to partner England international Jermain Defoe in attack.

Probable Line-Up: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto; Dembele, Parker; Lennon, Holtby, Bale; Defoe

Pochettino will have to do without Uruguay international Gaston Ramirez, who was red carded against West Brom. Left-back Danny Fox also saw red in that game and he too is unavailable.

Probable Line-Up: Boruc; Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw; Davis, Schneiderlin, Cork; Lallana, Rodriguez; Lambert

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