Adam Leitch Examines Southampton vs Tottenham
Chief Sports Writer, Adam Leitch, of the Southampton Daily Echo, gives his thoughts on Wednesday’s match-up with Tottenham coming into town.
Okay, so now that we’ve all read Mauricio Pochettino’s press conference, took a quick glance of a probable starting lineup, found out which players to watch out for on Southampton’s squad and how to combat the Saints, let’s see how one person believes tomorrow’s fixture could play out.
Adam Leitch of the Southampton Daily Echo, gives his thoughts on how the Saints’ season has gone and how it could affect their game on Wednesday evening.
With a new manager in Claude Puel, following Ronald Koeman’s exit to manage Everton, the Saints are in a transitional period. They have experienced some highs and lows this year, and through it all they see themselves sitting in seventh place. A good spot considering what has happened since the summer.
“It was an up and down opening to the season, but Saints come into the game in a strong position,” Lietch told Spurs’ official website. “Though there was disappointment in terms of their exit from the Europa League, they are in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and seventh in the Premier League, which is about where they would hope, especially in a transitional season.”
“They have certainly given themselves plenty to play for in the second half of the season.”
Southampton’s trajectory this season, plus deploying different systems (more on this below) oddly enough resembles how Tottenham’s campaign has gone by.
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Although Spurs sit in fifth and have been higher up the table than the Saints’ they’re not too different. Mauricio Pochettino’s squad has enjoyed some highs and have suffered some lows, most notably getting knocked out of the Champions League and a poor stretch of form from October through November.
During certain fixtures — because of injuries and new players — Pochettino has had to change things up tactically. He’s used different formations to find a way to get his side a better advantage to win. Sometimes it’s worked. Other times it has failed.
This is something that Claude Puel has also done.
“There have been some fairly drastic changes,” Adam Leitch said about Southampton’s playing style this year. “For three seasons – one under Mauricio Pochettino and two under Ronald Koeman – Saints generally played a 4-2-3-1 formation, and to great success as well with finishes of eighth, seventh and sixth. Claude Puel started with a diamond midfield but has changed to more of a 4-3-3 as the games have gone on.”
“He has also been cautious of the demands of having so many fixtures this season due to Europe, and so style-wise Saints have changed to a much more possession-based game. They are at their best against teams prepared to come on to them.”
So then, how will the Saints lineup against Spurs? That is a difficult question to answer as no one really knows how the French manager will tinker with his squad and which tactics he’ll use on a game-by-game basis.
It has always changed depending on the opponent, as in, a lot of rotation has been happening. It’s literally a guessing game for everyone.
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“It is very hard to pick Claude Puel’s lineups, even the squad are guessing some of the time because he has taken the policy of rotating his team for the majority of matches.” Leitch continued.
“With three games in six days coming up for Saints, there is no doubt that Puel will have in mind a side he would ideally start for all three fixtures, and invariably there will be a large number of alterations. He will probably stick with the system mentioned earlier [the 4-3-3].”
“In terms of definite absentees there are Charlie Austin, Matt Targett and Jeremy Pied, who all have long term injuries.”
With a basic understanding that Claude Puel could remain in his 4-3-3 formation Adam Leitch doesn’t give a final verdict, instead he prefers to go with a more logical and sound conclusion. That tomorrow’s match may be decided solely on which side plays their brand of football to its fullest.
Meaning, if Southampton are very good in possession and on counterattacks, and they’re able to hold onto the ball, they could find themselves stretching Tottenham’s defense. Likewise, Spurs are at their best when they can high-press and pin the opposition back.
Both teams are very good when it comes to creating chances. Similarly, they’re quite poor in finishing them. In essence, whoever makes a mistake will pay for it.
That’s a cop-out of an answer but it’s suitable for a match-up that sees the hosts’ own the Premier League’s third-best defense, while the second-best defense in the league are their opponents.
“A lot depends on how Spurs approach the game,” Adam Leitch explained.
“You would imagine they will try and press Saints high up the field, which will possibly disrupt Saints’ normal possession game. However, Saints are good on the counterattack and so Spurs may be wary to overcommit.”
“Whether Pochettino adapts the Spurs style for Saints, or just goes for it, will be fascinating to see. It will certainly be an intriguing game and it’s fairly easy to make an argument for any result.”
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Indeed, how Mauricio Pochettino chooses his starting XI could greatly impact tomorrow’s game. Right now the only player missing tomorrow’s fixture is Érik Lamela. Which means that Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembélé and Vincent Janssen should all be fit.
If some players don’t suit up and there’s a slight rotation, then Pochettino has decided to give them some more rest in preparation for a New Year’s Day clash against Watford at Vicarage Road.
Either way, the schedule is set to become quite congested so Pochettino must have a general idea on which players will need rest and which games must be taken more seriously (even if every game must be won to challenge for a league title).