Preview: Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Southampton on Sunday determined to put a disappointing week behind them.

A below-par Spurs lost 4-2 to London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend before being held to their third consecutive European draw by Maribor on Thursday.

Talisman Gareth Bale was absent for both of those games due to the birth of his daughter, but will return to Andre Villas-Boas's starting XI to face his former club.

With Emmanuel Adebayor continuing to struggle with niggling injuries, Jermain Defoe is likely to retain his position as the lone striker.

William Gallas and Brad Friedel should return after being rested for the trip to Slovenia, while Jake Livermore or Tom Huddlestone will deputise for Mousa Dembele in midfield, should the Belgian fail to recover from his hip injury.

Saints boss Nigel Adkins may recall top-scorer Ricky Lambert after benching him for their 4-1 loss to West Ham United last time out.

Lambert may partner Jay Rodriguez in attack if Adkins opts to revert back to the 4-4-2 system which earned Southampton their only win since returning to the top flight.

Defenders Frazier Richardson and Danny Butterfield are nearing returns from injury and could be in contention, but midfielder duo Jack Cork and record signing Gaston Ramirez are definitely unavailable.

Recent form: Southampton: LDLWLL

Spurs: LWWWWD

Possible lineups:

Southampton: Boruc; Clyne, Yoshia, Hooiveld, Richardson; Lallana, Davis, Schneiderlin, Puncheon; Lambert, Rodriguez

Spurs: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Caulker, Vertonghen; Sandro, Livermore; Lennon, Dempsey, Bale; Defoe

Sports Mole says: 1-2