Amid fury and condemnation from supporters over their involvement in the European Super League, Tottenham Hotspur begin life after Jose Mourinho when they welcome Southampton to North London in Wednesday's Premier League clash.
The hosts could only take a point from a 2-2 draw with Everton on Friday evening, whereas Southampton's FA Cup journey ended at the hands of Leicester City in the semi-finals.
Match preview
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Mere hours after announcing their involvement in the controversial European Super League, Tottenham confirmed that Jose Mourinho's tumultuous time in the North London dugout had come to an end, just six days before Spurs bid to end their trophy drought in the EFL Cup final.
If threats by football's governing bodies are anything to go by, Tottenham will not be plying their trade in the Premier League for much longer, so interim coach Ryan Mason must make the remainder of the league campaign count if Spurs do indeed join football's superpowers in the breakaway European Super League.
Tottenham's recent performances have not personified that of a leading continental club, though, with the North London side now winless in three Premier League matches and relying on the brilliance of Harry Kane to propel them to a point at Goodison Park last time out.
The England captain was on hand to capitalise on two lapses of concentration from Everton's defence, but former Lilywhites playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson was the thorn in Mourinho's side on Merseyside as his brace ensured that the spoils were shared on Friday.
Spurs fans were not best pleased with the club's announcement of their European Super League plans - an act which rubbed salt into the wounds after they witnessed Kane limp off injured against Everton - and Mourinho leaves the seventh-placed Lilywhites are five points adrift of the top four with seven games left to play.
However, Spurs did manage to string together a three-game winning streak at home before Manchester United came, saw and conquered, and Mourinho has departed before running the risk of losing 10 home games at a single club for the first time ever, so 29-year-old Mason is under enormous pressure to spark an immediate revival in the capital.
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Tottenham will travel to Wembley for the EFL Cup final on April 25, but Southampton's trip to the home of English football ended in dismay at the weekend, as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side bowed out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage following a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City.
The prolific Kelechi Iheanacho struck the game's only goal in front of 4,000 fans on Sunday evening, and any faint hopes of Southampton ending the season on a high now rests solely on their Premier League fortunes, which will not inspire much confidence within the ranks either.
Hasenhuttl's side were firmly in the European conversation during the earliest stages of the campaign, but their torrid turnaround in fortunes sees them occupy 14th spot in the table, and they are not entirely safe just yet as nine points separate them from 18th-placed Fulham, who have played two games more.
The Saints have suffered defeat in 11 of their last 14 top-flight matches, including seven of their last eight away from home, and their tally of 10 points from 15 matches since the turn of the year is the fewest out of all 20 Premier League clubs, although an easing injury list should help Hasenhuttl steer his side away from the unforeseen threat of relegation.
Kane and Son Heung-min must still feature in the nightmares of Southampton supporters after their deadly double act in September's 5-2 win for Spurs, and the Lilywhites have come up trumps in eight of their last nine home games against the Saints - most recently losing 2-1 in May 2016.
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Team News
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It would take a brave soul to confidently predict how Mason will opt to line up for his first game in charge, but he will almost certainly be without top scorer Harry Kane, who could reportedly miss up to three weeks with his ankle problem.
The Spurs coach could therefore decide to bring Carlos Vinicius back into the fold after he was dropped by Mourinho for tactical reasons against Everton, but Lucas Moura is another option for the hosts.
With Mason having just six days to prepare for an EFL Cup final, further rotation could be on the cards as Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks and Japhet Tanganga hope to impress under new leadership.
Gareth Bale will hope to be handed a new lease of life now that Mourinho has been relieved of his duties, and he ought to feel confident about his chances of starting against his former club this week.
Mason has confirmed that Matt Doherty is ready to return from injury, but Ben Davies remains sidelined with a calf problem.
Southampton will welcome Takumi Minamino back to the fold after he was ineligible for the FA Cup, and the Liverpool loanee will likely battle Theo Walcott for the chance to replace Moussa Djenepo out wide.
Nathan Redmond was given the nod up top in the cup, but he was hooked just before the hour mark for Che Adams and will likely relinquish his spot to the Scotland international here.
Will Smallbone, Oriol Romeu and Michael Obafemi all remain out of contention, and Hasenhuttl may be tempted to bring Alex McCarthy back in goal after Fraser Forster let in three against West Bromwich Albion, but the latter should keep his place for now.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Tanganga, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Winks; Bale, Lo Celso, Son; Vinicius
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Forster; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Minamino, Diallo, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong; Ings, Adams
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton
An immediate case of new manager bounce would have Spurs supporters dreaming of cup success under fresh management, but Mason must focus on the task at hand against Southampton first and foremost.
However, the Saints realistically only have pride to play for and travel to the capital with a dire away record, so we expect Spurs to begin the post-Mourinho era in perfect fashion with all three points.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 54.63%. A draw had a probability of 23.3% and a win for Southampton had a probability of 22.06%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.82%) and 2-0 (9.43%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.05%), while for a Southampton win it was 0-1 (6.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would win this match.
