11:48
Jose Mourinho’s pre-match thoughts
[What difference can Gareth Bale make?] “Today, nothing, because he’s not here. The only thing that matters for me today is to try to get the result we want. [Is Dele Alli unfit?] No. We have a huge squad, with numbers that are very difficult to manage. I don’t like it and it’s not easy for me to pick 18 players. We have too many players for some positions and some of them are paying the price for this.”
11:13
Team news
Dele Alli isn’t even on the bench for Spurs. He’s not injured, unless you count wounded pride.
Southampton (4-2-2-2) McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu; Armstrong, Djenepo; Adams, Ings.
Substitutes: Forster, Vestergaard, Vokins, Smallbone, Long, Obafemi, Tella.
Spurs (4-3-3) Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Winks, Ndombele, Hojbjerg; Lucas Moura, Kane, Son.
Substitutes: Hart, Alderweireld, Aurier, Lamela, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Bergwijn.
Referee David Coote.
11:13
Preamble
He’s back! And he’s not playing! Gareth Bale’s signing was not registered in time for him to take part in Spurs’ trip to Southampton today, though he has still dominated the pre-match chatter. It’s almost a shame there’s a football match to get in the way of more talk about what Bale might achieve when he starts playing in football matches for Spurs again.
Both teams started the Premier League season with 1-0 defeats, Southampton at Crystal Palace and Spurs at home to Everton. A strong-looking Southampton side was then beaten at home by Brentford in the Carabao Cup, while Spurs edged past Lokomotiv Plovdiv in their Europa League qualifier. Ralph Hasenhuttl and Jose Mourinho have both bemoaned their teams’ fitness levels, and neither can really afford another defeat today. In the Premier League you’re never far away from a perceived crisis, with or without Gareth Bale.
Kick off 12pm.