Sky Sports football pundit Charlie Nicholas has predicted how Tottenham Hotspur will begin their 2020 campaign when they face Southampton at St Mary’s.
The former Arsenal player has highlighted Tottenham’s problems in defence which were evident during the 2-2 draw at Norwich City in their last Premier League fixture.
Nicholas was critical of a number of Spurs defenders by claiming that Jan Vertonghen is struggling at being asked to play as a left back rather than his more familiar position of centre half.
He also singled out Toby Alderweireld who he believes is struggling at present whilst also labelling Serge Aurier as error prone.
Nicholas believes that Jose Mourinho will have to settle for a point on the south coast in a goalscoring draw.
He told Sky Sports: “Southampton have always had issues at home, although they did get a draw at the weekend against Crystal Palace. Tottenham are still unstable and Jose Mourinho will look at the defence, whether it is Danny Rose in particular or the club that is the issue, as Jan Vertonghen is at left-back and is struggling. Toby Alderweireld has signed a new deal but is struggling, while Serge Aurier makes too many mistakes.
“This must give hope for Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond, but whether Southampton can get enough service to them through midfield, I am unsure. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Lucas Moura have a lot on the counter-attack, but Southampton’s confidence must be high and they may play more in line, which means there will be more goals in this one. Mourinho still needs time to fix things.”
Opinion
A draw would be a massive blow to Tottenham’s hopes of finishing in the top four this season. Chelsea are in action at Brighton earlier in the day and could have an eight-point lead by the time which Spurs take to the field.
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