Notebook - Southampton vs Spurs

This Saturday, we make the trip to St Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton in the Premier League (kick-off 3pm).

Ahead of the game, here are all the fixture’s key points of note...

1 - Biggest-ever opening day victory

Our 2022/23 Premier League opener against Southampton was a curtain raiser to remember as we recorded our biggest-ever opening day victory, coming from behind to win 4-1 in north London.

On a picturesque summer’s day at a packed-out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, James Ward-Prowse volleyed the visitors ahead after 12 minutes but we responded impressively and managed to turn the game on it's head by half-time - Ryan Sessegnon scoring his first league goal in lilywhite before Eric Dier glanced in a header.

We further asserted ourselves after the break and made our dominance count with two goals in quick succession just after the hour mark. Emerson Royal was at the heart of both, first when Mohammed Salisu turned the Brazilian's cross into his own net before he then found Dejan Kulusevski who curled in our fourth to cap a brilliant opening day.

Highlights: Spurs 4-1 Saints | August, 2022

2 – Chasing a seventh league double

We travel to St Mary’s Stadium looking to complete a league double over Southampton for the seventh time, something we have only achieved as often against Manchester City (9), Aston Villa (7) and Everton (7). Despite losing consecutive away matches to the Saints in March, 2019, and January, 2020, our opponents have won just two of their 10 home games against us (D3 L5) since they returned to the top flight in 2012.

3 – Last season against the Saints

Although we are seeking a league double over the Saints, looking back to last season shows this will be no easy task. The Saints proved to be stubborn opposition with us being frustrated in a 1-1 draw against 10-men at St Mary’s in December, 2021, before losing 3-2 at home the following February in a game where we had twice led.

4 – Kane’s Saints record

On the back of recording his 19th and 20th league goals of the campaign against Nottingham Forest, Harry Kane will be eyeing more milestones against a team he seemingly enjoys playing against. Harry might have drawn a blank against Southampton in August, but he has been directly involved in 17 goals in 15 league appearances against Saturday’s opponents (11 goals, six assists) in his career to date, a record only topped by his 22 goal involvements (18 goals, four assists) against Leicester City. Our number 10 is also one away from hitting 10 away Premier League goals in a seventh different season – for context, no player in the competition’s history has done this more than four times.

5 – 100-club for Sonny?

Heung-Min Son is another player who seemingly loves playing against Southampton, netting more goals against the Saints than against any other opponent (10). Sonny also heads into this game on 99 Premier League goals, meaning he needs just one more to reach his century in the competition.

6 - New man in the dugout

Since our last meeting in N17, it’s been quite a turbulent time at St Mary’s with Southampton now onto their third manager of the season in Ruben Sellés. Ralph Hasenhuttl was first to depart in November, 2022, with the Saints in the bottom three after 12 games, ending his reign as the south coast side's longest-serving manager in the Premier League era. Nathan Jones followed but, after just one win in eight matches, the Saints parted ways with the Welshman. Then, following two brief spells as caretaker boss during this campaign, Sellés was appointed on a permanent basis last month to oversee the Saints until the end of the season as they look to stave off relegation.

7 – Saints form

Despite losing 2-0 away to Brentford in midweek, results and performances have picked up under Sellés. Having overseen a 1-0 win at Chelsea in his first game as caretaker manager following Jones' departure, the Saints then suffered a narrow 1-0 away defeat to Leeds United but bounced back to beat Leicester 1-0 at home before holding Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford.

8 – Ward-Prowse one away from Beckham record

In a fixture Harry and Sonny relish, Southampton have a player of their own who seemingly enjoys this one in James Ward-Prowse. The Saints captain has eight goal involvements (four goals, four assists) against us - more than he has managed against any other side. He has also scored or assisted in his last four league games in this fixture. Despite scoring in open play in N17, Ward-Prowse’s obvious threat is as a set piece specialist - he comes into this game just one behind David Beckham’s long-standing Premier League record of 18 goals from direct free-kicks.