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Tottenham Hotspur will aim to bounce back from their European travails when Southampton visit White Hart Lane in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday. This year's continental adventure ended with a spirited 2-2 draw against Benfica which forced the Londoners to bow out from the UEFA Europa League 5-3 on aggregate at the last-16 stage.
With Tim Sherwood's men ;seven points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City, who have played three matches less, Spurs face an uphill struggle to qualify for a top-four place. Spurs have lost three of their last four Barclays Premier League matches, scoring just one goal in the process, and face a tough trip to in-form title contenders Liverpool next weekend. Sherwood left the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris and Paulinho at home for the midweek trip to Portugal, with the quartet all expected to feature on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's Southampton, meanwhile, can still harbour slim European ambitions of their own, although they would have to overhaul Manchester United, Everton and Spurs to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Southampton also have the advantage of a full week's rest going into the game, unlike their opponents, and Pochettino's team head to White Hart Lane having lost just twice in their last 10 top-flight outings.
They won last time out on the road when Jay Rodriguez's goal earned them a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace, and they will be hoping for a change of fortune from the reverse fixture in December, when the Lilywhites won 3-2 at St Mary's in Sherwood's first league match in charge. Adebayor scored twice that day, but Pochettino knows Sherwood has plenty of quality at his disposal.
Pochettino also revealed a number of injury concerns for the visitors, including Uruguayan playmaker Gaston Ramirez (knock), who played an hour in the 4-2 win over Norwich City last time out.