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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 28
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur
St Mary's
Southampton, England
Saturday, 18 March 2023
Kick-off is at 16h00
Tottenham have a chance to climb into the top three in the
Premier League when they face rock-bottom Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday, March 18.
Spurs returned to winning ways when they beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the capital last Saturday, having suffered a 1-0 defeat at Wolves the previous weekend.
Antonio Conte' side closed within two points of Manchester United in fourth place courtesy of a third win in four games and maintained the four-point gap to Newcastle, who recorded a 2-1 victory over Wanderers to leapfrog Liverpool into fifth position.
Image copyright: Getty Images
The Saints picked up a potentially valuable point in a 0-0 draw with United last Sunday to edge within two points of safety, which followed on from a 1-0 win against Leicester eight days earlier.
Bournemouth (18th) lifted themselves off the foot of the table with a surprise 1-0 triumph over the Reds and they are tied on 24 points with West Ham (17th) and Leicester (16th), while Leeds remain a point clear of Ruben Selles' team in 19th spot after holding Brighton to a 2-2 draw.
Carlos Alcaraz has already made an impact on the south coast following his arrival from Racing Club in January, scoring the winner against the Foxes to make it two goals from six appearances after opening his Saints account in the 2-1 defeat to Wolves on February 11.
Harry Kane hit the 20-goal mark in the top flight for the sixth time in his career with a brace against Forest - a feat he has managed on three occasions this term. However, the England international has some way to go to challenge Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot after the Norwegian striker bagged his 28th goal for Manchester City to clinch a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
In team news, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Juan Larios and Valentino Livramento are sidelined for the hosts, while the visitors continue to be without Yves Bissouma (ankle), Hugo Lloris (knee), Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Bentancur (both knee). Emerson is rated doubtful.
Selles hailed a spirited performance from his players at Old Trafford and believes it shows the togetherness of his squad in the face of adversity.
"We saw a team with character and a team who came here to Old Trafford trying to implement the idea of how we do things and be disappointed with just a point," the Spaniard said.
"Then in possession the calmness that our players showed in every situation, trying to build out, trying to find each other, trying to exploit the spaces, it's what we spoke about before the game. I think it's a team that's working together, fighting together, playing together. And the team spirit is there."
Conte praised the desire of his players to bounce back from a difficult 10 days, which saw Spurs crash out of the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup, while losing to Wolves in the league.
"The spirit of the team was good. I see all the players really focused with the right desire, the will to help each other and I think we need to always have this type of spirit and desire because in England, you know very well there are no easy games," the Italian told SPURSPLAY.
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Southampton - 1
Tottenham - 3
Draws - 1
Matchday 28 fixtures:
Friday, March 17
21h00: Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
Saturday, March 18
16h00: Aston Villa v Bournemouth
16h00: Brentford v Leicester City
16h00: Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United
18h30: Chelsea v Everton
Sunday, March 5
15h00: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
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