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Soccer tips: Southampton vs Tottenham - Spurs to keep up European pursuit

Antonio Conte is looking to extend his unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven when his side travel to Saint Mary's to take on Southampton.

Southampton and Tottenham will meet in the final game of 2021 for both sides.

The two clubs return looking to build on their respective Boxing Day wins over West Ham and Crystal Palace.

Southampton's relegation fears were eased with a 3-2 win against the Hammers, while Tottenham defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 with Harry Kane on the scoresheet.

When, where and how to watch:

When: Tuesday, December 28, 15:00 GMT

Where: Saint Mary's

How to watch: Amazon Prime

(All text odds are correct at time of publication, the odds in the flashy blue boxes are bang up-to-date)

Best bets for Southampton vs Tottenham

Harry Kane to score first - 3/1

Tottenham and over 2.5 goals - 23/20

Oliver Skipp to be carded - 19/10

Antonio Conte admitted he cannot produce miracles, but so far so good for the ex-Chelsea boss. The Italian has won four of his six Premier League fixtures, is undefeated in the league, and has seen his side claim four clean sheets in the process.

Considering the amount of goals they were conceding under Nuno Espirito Santos, Conte has seemingly found the winning formula. His traditional 3-4-3 formation, matched with the involvement of Oliver Skipp in the middle of the park, is certainly working.

The 21-year-old has featured in five Premier League games under Conte, starting in four and coming on as a substitute in their battling 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

Skipp played in 45 games at Norwich City on loan last season and helped the Canaries return to the Premier League as Championship winners.

Compared to seven yellow cards he received in the whole of 2020/21, Skipp has already collected five cards at the halfway stage in 2021/22. For Skipp to be carded against Southampton, Planet Sport Bet are offering tasty odds of 19/10.

Last three meetings

Tottenham 2-1 Southampton (April 21, 2021)

Ryan Mason made a winning start as Tottenham's interim head coach as Spurs produced a second-half fightback.

Mason, a former Spurs midfielder, became the Premier League's youngest head coach at the age of 29 following the decision to sack Jose Mourinho.

Danny Ings capitalised on a poor start made by Tottenham, connecting from a James Ward-Prowse corner to open proceedings in the 30th minute.

However, Tottenham - without an injured Harry Kane - equalised through Gareth Bale before a late penalty by Heung-min Son's sealed a comeback win.

Southampton 2-5 Tottenham (September 20, 2020)

Heung-min Son and Harry Kane produced sensational performances as they combined to score all five goals for Tottenham.

After Danny Ings had scored to give Southampton the lead, Son went on to score four goals with all of them being assisted by Kane before the Englishman added a fifth.
Ings added a consolation goal for the Saints in stoppage time, converting a penalty to score his second goal of the game.

Kane broke a couple of records with his performance at Saint Mary's. Not only was he the first player to assist a team-mate's hat-trick since Thierry Henry in 2003 for Freddie Ljungberg, but Kane also became the first English player to achieve it in Premier League history.

Tottenham 3-2 Southampton (February 5, 2020)

Tottenham overcame a determined Southampton to ensure they progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Meeting in a replay, Tanguy Ndombele's deflected shot, later given as a Jack Stephens own goal, gave Spurs the lead. Shane Long and Danny Ings put Southampton in front with less than 20 minutes to go but two late goals by Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son gave Tottenham victory.

Tottenham's win meant that they had now won all 11 of their FA Cup replays with six of them being against top flight opposition.

Last 10 meetings

Southampton wins: 2

Draws: 2

Tottenham wins: 6

Southampton goals: 14

Tottenham goals: 23

An entertaining end to 2021?

Harry Kane applauds the Tottenham fans

Given the form they are in, alongside the Antonio Conte factor, it is no surprise that Tottenham are favourites to earn an away win at 21/20 while Southampton are 12/5. A draw is 5/2.

This is a potential banana skin to Tottenham, especially when you consider Southampton's win over West Ham on Boxing Day alongside a spirited 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

They have scored five goals in their last two games, conceding four goals. In the last seven games, it's not rocket science to work out why things haven't been going according to plan for Ralph Hasenhuttl in recent weeks. They have conceded 17 goals in seven games, collecting just six points from a possible 21.

In contrast, Tottenham are playing some good stuff and have won 14 points from a possible 18 under Conte. Spurs have scored 12 goals and shipped in just three goals along the way. They are in the race for Champions League qualification and victory will put them three points from fourth with two games in hand over north London rivals Arsenal.

Goalscorer bets for Southampton vs Tottenham

Harry Kane has scored in his last two outings and Tottenham will be hoping their star man is back to business in front of goal after scoring against Liverpool and Crystal Palace.

Southampton is a team Kane has fond memories of having bagged a hat-trick against them in 2017 to break Alan Shearer's record of most Premier League goals in a calendar year (39). He is 22/1 to score another treble and 3/1 to score the first goal of the game.

Heung-min Son is in tremendous form and has four goals in as many Premier League games. He is 17/10 to score at anytime while Lucas Moura - another player producing the goods for Conte - is 6/1 to score first.

Meanwhile, for Southampton, Armando Broja is their top goalscorer in the league with six goals in all competitions. The forward, on loan from Chelsea, has bagged four goals from six Premier League starts, something no other tally any player under the age of 20 can equal or better this season.
He is a very tempting 4/1 to score Southampton's first goal and a long 8/1 to bag the first goal of the game.

Read more: Counting down the Premier League's best ever players by shirt number (10-1): Rooney, Shearer...

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