Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur Betting Preview – EPL, September 20, 2020

Southampton went into its first game of the season last week in a relatively positive manner after ending the last campaign on a high. So the defeat to Palace would have been taken as a huge disappointment.

Saints fans will be heartened to know that the two big arrivals due at Spurs will not get there in time to play on Sunday as Tottenham looks to improve on its own dismal start to the new season.

If this game was taking place a week later I would be more inclined to agree with the pricing from BetOnline making Spurs the favorites. But Southampton has impressed under manager Ralph Hasenhutl and I think that the odds for a home win or a draw look much better value than the away win.

Southampton rejected a formal approach from Spurs this week for Danny Ings and it would definitely be a wrong move to let the talismanic striker leave the club when he has been one of the major reasons for the turnaround in fortunes after last year’s poor start.

But he couldn’t find a way through the Crystal Palace defense last weekend as Southampton kicked off the new season with what ended up being a surprising defeat. There will be better times ahead for the Saints though, as the team is developing nicely under its Austrian manager.

Spurs may have missed out on adding Ings to its squad – and joining him up with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who made the move from St Mary’s in the summer. But the fans are getting excited about the imminent arrival of another former Southampton player as Gareth Bale looks set to join on loan from Real Madrid this week.

He won’t be able to affect this game though, so it could be the last chance for a few of the starting eleven to impress Jose Mourinho as Sevilla defender Sergio Reguilon is also about to sign a permanent deal with the north London club. It may make the Spurs team look a little livelier than it was against Everton last week at least.

Spurs looked directionless last week against Everton and I’m not sure that there will be a lot of difference this Sunday against Southampton. The season is about to get much better for Jose Mourinho’s side but I think it will be another week at least before some actual points are put on the board.