Southampton's short-lived stay in the Premier League could officially come to an end on Sunday afternoon if they lose to fellow crisis club Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
The Saints are teetering on the brink after an agonising 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in midweek, before their capital counterparts sank to a 1-0 loss to London rivals Chelsea.
Match preview
© Imago
Unless Tottenham unexpectedly go all the way in this season's Europa League, the only 'cups' that the Spurs faithful will receive will be Ange Postecoglou cupping his ears to the crowd in Thursday's clash with Chelsea, an enraging encounter from start to finish for the Tottenham boss.
Enzo Fernandez's effort settled the derby in the Blues' favour, and Spurs' one uplifting moment was quickly snatched from them when a Pape Sarr equaliser was disallowed following a VAR review, triggering another one of Postecoglou's customary post-match technology rants.
The former Celtic head coach was also forced to deny that his ear-cupping to the away end was a hostile one - his decision to withdraw Lucas Bergvall for Sarr was met with a highly negative reaction - but regardless, that gesture was highly ill-advised after Sarr's strike was chalked off.
Only boasting one point from their last four games in England's top division, Tottenham's 14th-placed standing in the Premier League table makes for increasingly grim reading, as does their horrendous record of one win from their last 10 Premier League matches at home.
Nevertheless, Postecoglou's second-season trophy prophecy could still come true as the Lilywhites prepare to battle Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and Spurs could hardly have wished for a friendlier fixture to regain some much-needed momentum before Thursday's first leg.
© Imago
As has been the story of the Saints' season, even ending their six-game losing run at home to Crystal Palace left an incredibly bitter taste in the mouth, as Ivan Juric's side were oh so close to just a third Premier League win of the campaign thanks to Paul Onuachu's opener.
However, a tale of two headers ended with Matheus Franca breaking Southampton hearts in the second minute of added time, meaning that the Premier League's whipping boys could be condemned to their fate in record time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The formula is simple; if Southampton lose at Tottenham and Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Ipswich Town on Saturday, Juric's men will be relegated with seven games left to play, writing a new page of unwanted Premier League history in the process.
No team has ever been relegated as early as gameweek 31 before - the current 'record' is held by 2007-08 Derby County and 2018-19 Huddersfield Town, who were consigned to demotion in gameweek 32 - and the Saints' measly 10-point total still puts them on course for the worst-ever Premier League season.
To make matters worse, Southampton were slaughtered 5-0 by Spurs on home soil in December and have conceded in each of their last 15 Premier League away games against Tottenham, who even in their current state will be backed to hammer the final nail into their visitors' relegation coffin.
Team News
© Imago
The only positive from Thursday night's defeat for Spurs, Postecoglou confirmed in his pre-game press conference that no new players picked up injuries; Micky van de Ven was only cramping at the end and should be passed fit for Sunday.
Luckless attacker Richarlison might also be in with a chance of coming back from a calf problem, having made his return to training over the past week, but Radu Dragusin (ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (foot) and Kevin Danso (hamstring) are still on the treatment table.
Postecoglou has confirmed that he will shuffle the pack this weekend with Frankfurt on the horizon, which spells good news for the likes of Sarr, Brennan Johnson and Mathys Tel; it would not be a huge surprise to see Son Heung-min spared for this one.
As for a doomed Southampton, Flynn Downes's 10th yellow card of the season in the draw with Crystal Palace means that he is suspended for Sunday's game, which Juan Larios (fitness), Ross Stewart (fitness) and Will Smallbone (groin) will also miss, although the latter is due back in training this weekend.
In keeping with the theme of their disastrous season, Juric was also forced to bring off all of Lesley Ugochukwu (unspecified), Onuachu (ankle) and Ryan Manning (hand) against Palace; the former and latter are fine, but Onuachu is a serious doubt.
Cameron Archer should therefore lead the Saints' line in North London, where Joe Aribo and Yukinari Sugawara will also gear up for promotions to the first XI.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Gray, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Tel
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap; Sugawara, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Walker-Peters; Fernandes; Archer, Dibling
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Southampton
Expect a slightly weakened Spurs side to take to the field this weekend as Postecoglou prioritises the Europa League, not that it should make much difference to the final scoreline.
As pitiful as Tottenham's performance was in midweek, a refreshed set of options should comfortably condemn Southampton to their 25th Premier League loss of the season, one that might officially punch their ticket to the 2025-26 Championship.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
