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Ange Postecoglou will know this competition is boom or bust for Spurs, and likely his job, as they look to not only navigate past the German outfit but lift the trophy in May.

Spurs have produced some of their better performances in the Europa League this season but will know the same can be said for Frankfurt, who sit third in the Bundesliga.

It is the biggest game of the season so far for Spurs, with next week’s second leg likely topping it, and anything less than a win will pile even more pressure on Postecoglou.

Tottenham's injury woes of the last few months are almost behind them, but they will still be without Dejan Kulusevski, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin for Thursday's first leg. It remains to be seen if Kulusevski and Danso will be fit for next week's second leg, but Dragusin is out for the rest of the season.

Spurs will be able to call upon Rodrigo Bentancur, who has served a one-game Europa League ban, while Micky van den Ven and Destiny Udogie are expected to start after being rested at the weekend. Ange Postecoglou has a few decisions to make in attack, namely who starts on the right wing between Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert

Frankfurt will have second-choice goalkeeper Kaua Santos in goal as Kevin Trapp has failed to recover from injury. Elye Wahi is also sideline, but Igor Matanovic is back in contention after two months out.

Striker Hugo Ekitike is the big danger for the Bundesliga side, after Omar Marmoush left for Manchester City in January, and he will be supported by Mario Gotze, who is now 32 years old but still a potent threat from midfield.

Tottenham prepared for this game with a lacklustre 3-1 win over Southampton, which saw them not needing to exert much energy - or attempt to do so. It remains to be seen if they can glean any momentum from the result, but the come fit and firing for the visit of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt's form has certainly taken a knock since Marmoush's exit, they have won just five of 13 games since his move was confirmed, but their Europa League form continues to impress. This will be a tight tie over two legs, with Spurs to edge the first in front of their own fans.

The German side travel to north London on Thursday night for the first leg of a high-profile quarter-final tie that could prove important in terms of under-fire manager Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs future.

But they will do so without influential first-choice goalkeeper and club captain Kevin Trapp, who will play no part in the contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Frankfurt have confirmed that their long-term No1 is still out injured and will be replaced in Dino Toppmoller’s Europa League squad by veteran third-choice ‘keeper Jens Grahl following a request to UEFA to temporarily update their ‘A list’.

That will mean that 21-year-old Brazilian Kaua Santos - a 2023 arrival from Flamengo - should retain the starting job in goal for Frankfurt against Tottenham, having impressed while deputising for Trapp in 11 appearances across all competitions so far this season including the last four games in a row.

Trapp has played 31 times in total this term but not since the 2-1 home Bundesliga defeat by Union Berlin on March 9 having been struggling with a shin injury and was not deemed fit enough to return for Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away at Werder Bremen having only been able to partake in partial training last week.

German publication Bild reported on Monday that the 34-year-old could yet be added to the Frankfurt squad ahead of next week’s home second leg against Tottenham if he can prove his fitness in time.

Trapp, who has nine senior international caps for Germany, has made 378 appearances for Frankfurt across two spells at Deutsche Bank Park, having initially joined from Kaiserslautern in 2012 and then returned - initially on loan - in 2018 following three years with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Along with their usual starting goalkeeper, Frankfurt are also without injured forward Elye Wahi against Tottenham, as well as winger Ansgar Knauff and former USA defender Timothy Chandler. However, defender Nnamdi Collins and striker Igor Matanovic are both back and could be joined by teenage midfielder Can Uzun.

Tottenham will still be missing injured duo Kevin Danso and Dejan Kulusevski for the first leg plus long-term absentee Radu Dragusin, though Rodrigo Bentancur is available in midfield after missing the last-16 second-leg comeback against AZ Alkmaar last month through suspension.

Brennan Johnson's first-half double put the hosts in control but Saints rallied after the break, and deservedly halved the deficit in the 90th-minute through Mateus Fernandes' strike.

There was still time for Johnson to be fouled by Welington in the box, earning a 94th-minute spot-kick, but the Wales winger was denied the chance at a hat-trick, with substitute Mathys Tel converting from the spot instead.

Unfortunate to be ruled marginally offside by the VAR for a disallowed goal by Lucas Bergvall.

Deputised solidly for Micky van de Ven but will surely return to the bench on Thursday.

Made the opening goal for Johnson with a smart overlapping run. Outnumbered at the far post for Fernandes' goal -- a consequence of the tactics rather than his own shortcomings.

Got into some more dangerous positions than usual, including ahead of the second goal.

Unlucky to have a goal ruled out for a tight offside against Romero.

Made the second goal with a header into Johnson's pass. Some of his passing was eye-catching.

Took both of his goals well, potentially giving Ange Postecoglou a selection dilemma for Frankfurt.

Had an effort blocked after a lively counter. Withdrawn before the hour to save his legs.

No chance to make an impact as Spurs sat back.

Pedro Porro, who was given a rare rest for the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, continues at right-back, while Ben Davies deputises for Micky van de Ven at centre-half.

Yves Bissouma has been replaced at half-time in three of his last five starts, so Lucas Bergvall, who only played an hour against the Blues, continues at No6.

Postecoglou remains without Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) but said he had no fresh injury concerns after a 16th defeat of the league season at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Asked if he would rotate at Saints, who Spurs beat 5-0 at St. Mary's in December, Postecoglou said: "To a certain extent, we are a little bit beyond that as the group is in a decent place physically where I don’t have to get players gametime.

"As I said, it is about getting some momentum leading into the game on Thursday. We will make a couple of changes but we won’t make too many."

Under fire Spurs must avoid huge slip-up against sorry Saints

Tottenham play Southampton later today

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Tottenham vs Southampton – LIVE

Spurs today host Southampton in the Premier League. Ange Postecoglou is under increasing pressure in north London after Thursday’s loss at Chelsea made it 16 defeats for the season thus far. While the Europa League is the only thing left to play for this season, Postecoglou cannot afford what would be an embarrassing slip-up today.

Indeed, Saints have endured a thoroughly miserable campaign and are still yet to amass the points required to beat Derby County’s all-time Premier League points record of 11. Still, they earned a draw against Crystal Palace last time out and have little to lose ahead of their trip to Spurs later today.

While all eyes at Tottenham will no doubt be on Thursday’s huge first-leg clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, the idea of losing to this Southampton side is not worth considering for X. Follow all the action LIVE with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog! Dan Kilpatrick will be providing expert analysis from the ground.

Tottenham vs Southampton latest news

Ange Postecoglou has himself to blame as actions risk losing Tottenham fans previously focused on Daniel Levy

An all-too-familiar result at Stamford Bridge on Thursday changed little for the outlook of Tottenham's season – they are still 14th in the table, still relying on the Europa League to salvage their miserable campaign – but Ange Postecoglou's clash with supporters was a significant moment.

Postecoglou has denied he was goading fans when he cupped his ear towards the away end after substitute Pape Matar Sarr, whose introduction for Lucas Bergvall was jeered by sections of the travelling fans, thought he had equalised in the 70th-minute – only for the goal to be ruled out on the advice of the VAR.

Read the full story here!

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Tottenham vs Southampton: Head to head (h2h) history and results

Tottenham wins: 46

Draw: 22

Southampton wins: 27

Ange Postecoglou in difficult position with little to gain as Tottenham look to avoid Southampton banana skin

Tottenham's home game against Southampton on Sunday is a potential banana skin with no obvious upsides for Ange Postecoglou's struggling team.

Postecoglou has billed the game as a valuable chance for Spurs to build momentum ahead of the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday -- on which their season and probably his job depend -- but, Saints are such a sorry outfit that even thrashing them is unlikely to significantly change the mood music in north London.

Read Dan Kilpatrick’s full preview here!

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Tottenham vs Southampton: Why isn't Premier League game live on TV in UK today?

The game is being played at 2pm BST on Sunday, so does not fall within the blackout rules imposed across English football on a Saturday at 3pm.

But it has not been selected for live coverage by Sky Sports, who are instead showing Fulham vs Liverpool followed by Manchester United vs Manchester City at Old Trafford.

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Tottenham vs Southampton: Premier League score prediction today

It can be tricky to bet on Spurs this season as their results have been somewhat unpredictable (see January’s 2-1 loss to Leicester), but it is near impossible to justify putting any money behind Southampton.

The squad will recognize the now-or-never nature of the game. Ahead of next week’s season-defining Europa League tie, there could be no better preparation than a straightforward, confidence-boosting league win. Southampton should not pose too much of a threat to the Lilywhites.

Prediction: Tottenham 4-0 Southampton.

REUTERS

Southampton team news vs Tottenham today

Ivan Juric has not had an easy time since replacing Russell Martin at Southampton, though injuries have not been too big an issue. He has just one player out for Sunday as Will Smallbone recovers from a groin injury.

Midfielder Flynn Downes will miss out as he serves a two-match suspension. He picked up a tenth booking of the season in last week’s home draw to Crystal Palace.

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Tottenham team news vs Southampton today

Ange Postecoglou is expected to make changes against Southampton ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

Micky van de Ven, Heung-min Son and James Maddison are likely to be rested and Djed Spence could also be saved for Frankfurt after a recent bout of illness.

Pedro Porro, who was given a rare rest for the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, is likely to return to the side at right-back, while Ben Davies could deputise for Van de Ven at centre-half.

Yves Bissouma has been replaced at half-time in three of his last five starts, so Lucas Bergvall, who only played an hour against the Blues, may continue at No6, with Pape Matar Sarr also likely to start.

Son could be replaced by Brennan Johnson or Mathys Tel in the front three, although Mikey Moore is also pushing for minutes and Richarlison is set to return to the squad after a muscle injury.

Postecoglou remains without Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) but said he had no fresh injury concerns after a 16th defeat of the league season at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Asked if he would rotate at Saints, who Spurs beat 5-0 at St. Mary's in December, Postecoglou said: "To a certain extent, we are a little bit beyond that as the group is in a decent place physically where I don’t have to get players gametime.

"As I said, it is about getting some momentum leading into the game on Thursday. We will make a couple of changes but we won’t make too many."

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Tottenham vs Southampton: TV channel and live stream for Premier League today

TV channel: In the UK, the game is not due to be televised live.

Live stream: Fans can follow radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.

Free highlights: The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel will show highlights post-match, with Match of the Day 2 broadcasting on BBC One at 10:30pm.

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Welcome

Good morning and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Tottenham’s Premier League clash against Southampton.

Kick-off from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is at 2pm BST.

Action Images via Reuters

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Postecoglou’s men will look to build confidence ahead of Thursday’s Europa League outing

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Arthur Ferridge1 minute ago

Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

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Tottenham return to Premier League action on Sunday as they host rock-bottom Southampton.

Ange Postecoglou is under more pressure than ever after losing to rivals Chelsea last time out, leaving Spurs winless in four.

A win for the hosts will be crucial as the Australian looks to rescue his relationship with the club and its supporters, and would also set the tone as Spurs prepare for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

Southampton are rock bottom of the Premier League and have lost 10 of their last 12 matches. Now 19 points adrift of safety, they could be relegated today.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game...

Date, kick-off time and venue

Tottenham vs Southampton is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

The match will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Where to watch Tottenham vs Southampton

TV channel: In the UK, the game is not due to be televised live.

Live stream: Fans can follow radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.

Free highlights: The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel will show highlights post-match, with Match of the Day 2 broadcasting on BBC One at 10:30pm.

Tottenham vs Southampton team news

Postecoglou’s side has been ravaged by injury this year, but the storm seems to be breaking of late. Brazilian forward Richarlison is back in full team training and could make the squad against the Saints, but Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso remain unavailable.

Read More

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Radu Dragusin is out for the season as he recovers from an ACL injury.

Ivan Juric has not had an easy time since replacing Russell Martin at Southampton, though injuries have not been too big an issue. He has just one player out for Sunday as Will Smallbone recovers from a groin injury.

Midfielder Flynn Downes will miss out as he serves a two-match suspension. He picked up a tenth booking of the season in last week’s home draw to Crystal Palace.

Key man: Tottenham were without Dejan Kulusevski against Chelsea

AP

Tottenham vs Southampton prediction

It can be tricky to bet on Spurs this season as their results have been somewhat unpredictable (see January’s 2-1 loss to Leicester), but it is near impossible to justify putting any money behind Southampton.

The squad will recognize the now-or-never nature of the game. Ahead of next week’s season-defining Europa League tie, there could be no better preparation than a straightforward, confidence-boosting league win. Southampton should not pose too much of a threat to the Lilywhites.

Tottenham 4-0 Southampton

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Tottenham wins: 46

Draw: 22

Southampton wins: 27

Tottenham vs Southampton match odds

Tottenham win: 4/11

Draw: 4/1

Southampton win: 13/2

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).

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Ange Postecoglou is expected to make changes against Southampton ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

Micky van de Ven, Heung-min Son and James Maddison are likely to be rested and Djed Spence could also be saved for Frankfurt after a recent bout of illness.

Pedro Porro, who was given a rare rest for the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, is likely to return to the side at right-back, while Ben Davies could deputise for Van de Ven at centre-half.

Yves Bissouma has been replaced at half-time in three of his last five starts, so Lucas Bergvall, who only played an hour against the Blues, may continue at No6, with Pape Matar Sarr also likely to start.

Son could be replaced by Brennan Johnson or Mathys Tel in the front three, although Mikey Moore is also pushing for minutes and Richarlison is set to return to the squad after a muscle injury.

Postecoglou remains without Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring) and Radu Dragusin (knee) but said he had no fresh injury concerns after a 16th defeat of the league season at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Asked if he would rotate at Saints, who Spurs beat 5-0 at St. Mary's in December, Postecoglou said: "To a certain extent, we are a little bit beyond that as the group is in a decent place physically where I don’t have to get players gametime.

"As I said, it is about getting some momentum leading into the game on Thursday. We will make a couple of changes but we won’t make too many."

Defeat at Chelsea on Thursday means it's now 16 Premier League defeats for the north London outfit this season, as they continue to languish down in 14th and closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

Postecoglou maintains he did not attempt to goad Spurs fans at Stamford Bridge, but results are always the best medicine and the visit of Southampton is crucial to build some momentum ahead of a crunch Europa League quarter-final with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Saints will arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in not so great form despite Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace. Ivan Juric’s side are without a win in seven and relegation back to the Championship is a matter of when, not if.

Though, Spurs are heavy favourites to claim all three points, supporters in the UK will not be able to watch the game.

The game is being played at 2pm BST on Sunday, so does not fall within the blackout rules imposed across English football on a Saturday at 3pm.

But it has not been selected for live coverage by Sky Sports, who are instead showing Fulham vs Liverpool followed by Manchester United vs Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Ange Postecoglou has echoed his predecessor Antonio Conte by saying Tottenham need to change "a lot of things" to be successful and called for more influential voices inside and out of the club to speak out in defence of Spurs.

Postecoglou was speaking the morning after Spurs' 1-0 defeat at Chelsea, during which he cupped his ear at supporters following a disallowed equaliser by substitute Pape Matar Sarr, whose introduction for Lucas Bergvall had been jeered by the away end.

The Australian was again critical of the use of the VAR, saying the technology was causing him to "fall out of love" with the game, but insisted he would not allow "internal and external pressure" to derail the club's chances of success in the Europa League this season.

Asked if the pressure at Spurs was different to his previous clubs, Postecoglou said: "I knew this was going to be a tough gig for sure because there’s a whole weight of things you’re trying to rail against.

"So from that perspective it is different to other clubs I’ve been at for sure. A lot of it is also how the club is viewed externally. It seems like every fight ends up being an internal fight at this club.

"There’s never any sort of defending of the club or the club defending itself, it seems like to me, which makes it even more difficult because every club goes through tough moments and it’s how you react to them. That’s a unique challenge, but I accepted that challenge so I’ve got to try to find a way to overcome it."

"I think you hear enough from me, you probably hear too much from me to be honest, I think.

"It doesn’t have to be just from people at the club. I hear plenty of people talking and defending other clubs, but it seems with Tottenham wherever there’s a sore there’s a real pile on to sort of stick a finger in that sort and then we kind of accept our fate.

"I think the fact that out of last night the big story out of that is that my interaction with the fans and not the fact a game of football was materially changed by technology...I’d have thought that would be the story from last night but it’s not.

"Again, it’s my interaction with the fans and how I’ve made things more difficult. You kind of go, ‘Ok, well that’s the challenge we face.”

"I think in the time I’ve been here, we’ve had two decisions that have gone for us against Liverpool and there has been a national campaign, almost," he said.

"When we’re talking about the bigger clubs, there seems to be a lot more voices. And not always defending. You need scrutiny and constructive criticism as well. We definitely get enough of that! But we never get any of the other stuff."

In a parting rant before he was sacked, Conte predicted that Spurs could hire "a lot of managers" but the "situation cannot change" until the club itself adapted.

It was pointed out to Postecoglou that a succession of managers, including Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte, have been successful before and after Spurs but struggled in north London.

"At some point, I think the club needs to stick to something. If I say it now it sounds self-serving and defeats the purpose, so maybe not now…But I think if that if you want to change the course of your events, you need to change materially a lot of things in terms of your outlook as a club.

"From my perspective, while I’m in this chair, it is to see if I can find a way to navigate it that others have struggled to do that. But, as you rightly point out, there’s life after this for everybody, including Tottenham and including me.”

"We finished fifth last year," he added. "In another year, that would have been a Champions League spot. With people it just doesn’t register.

"If you have five years at a club and you have maybe one or two disappointing years but you have three really strong years you’d say: ‘I’ll take that.’

"But here you can’t have one good year … and last year was a good year, I don’t care what anybody says. We lost Harry [Kane]. I know everyone talks about our start.

"We changed the way we played. But it seems like, well, you have one good year, you have one poor year and then that’s it. Let’s move on to the next. But that’s what I accepted so I can’t sit here and say: ‘Ah, woe is me.’ That’s the challenge I accepted.

"Fair to say at the moment I’m not doing a good job of turning that mind-shift around. But as I said earlier, I am a fighter. I will continue fighting until told otherwise."