Premier League: Southampton v Tottenham match preview

A look ahead to this weekend's Premier League fixture at St Mary’s

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale (GETTY IMAGES)

Spurs travel to Southampton on Sunday in search of improvement following two lacklustre performances.

Andre Villas-Boas' men were outplayed and beaten 4-2 by his old side Chelsea last weekend and followed the result up with a 1-1 draw with Slovenian club Maribor in the Europa League on Thursday.

Southampton dwell in 18th in the table with just four points to their name, having conceded more goals in the first eight games than any other team in Premier League history (24).

KICK-OFF: Sunday, 3pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS…

Southampton 1 (Quashie) Spurs 0, Premier League, March 2005

Spurs 5 (Defoe 3, Kanoute, Keane) Southampton 1 (Crouch), Premier League, December 2004

Southampton 1 (Delap) Spurs 0, Premier League, March 2004

STATS...

Gareth Bale is preparing to make his first appearance at St Mary's Stadium since leaving Southampton for Tottenham in 2007

Southampton have won six of the last eight meetings between the sides

Twelve of Tottenham's 15 league goals this season have come in the second half

CLASSIC MATCH...

Towards the end of the 94/95 season, Saints' leading man of the nineties Matt Le Tissier scored twice in a 4-3 win against Tottenham at The Dell.

ODDS...

Southampton to win: 4.00

Spurs to win: 1.80

Draw: 3.50

TV: Highlights on BBC1 at 10.25pm