Tottenham Hotspur's 2022/23 Premier League season gets underway this weekend as they host Southampton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs have a good record against Southampton, having scored at least two goals against them in their last seven home games. Southampton's away record from the previous season doesn't help their odds either, losing 12 of their last 14 away league matches.
Despite having a good transfer window, Spurs' two biggest signings of the summer will be missing their season opener. Richarlison is suspended after being fined for throwing a flare into the crowd at his previous club Everton, and Yves Bissouma sustained a knock in training, likely missing tomorrow's game.
READ MORE: Antonio Conte hints at more summer transfers and January deals because of World Cup problems
So, can Spurs grab their first win of the season against Southampton on Saturday? Let's take a look.
Tottenham vs Southampton score predicted by simulation
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 22, updating the squads with the latest transfers made in this window. Both sides lined up in their 2021/22 kits as FIFA 22 does not provide the 2022/23 ones.
We predict that Spurs will line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
We predict that Southampton will line up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Bazunu; Perraud, Bednarek, Salisu, Walker-Peters; Elyounoussi, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong; Aribo; Adams.
Spurs were knocking on the door early, but it took them 24 minutes to finally break the deadlock. Heung-Min Son fired a shot past Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu after shots from Kane and Kulusevski ricocheted around the box.
Despite Spurs' dominance, they went into halftime with just a one-goal lead - Southampton hadn't registered a shot in the first half, whereas Spurs had registered 10. Straight after the break, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg came close, as his long-range effort hit the post. But, fans wouldn't have to wait long for the London club's second, with Kane making it 2-0.
In a stunning display of technique, Hojbjerg's short pass was picked up by Harry Kane on the edge of the area, flicked up with his right foot and volleyed into the bottom-right corner with his left. The ball travelled through two Saints defenders to double Spurs' lead.
Spurs were looking in control and would continue their relentless pressure through the rest of the half. Eventually, Conte's side found their third.
With 84 minutes gone, Kane doubled his tally after a cross from Son found him in the area, and he volleyed it home, putting the game to bed. Spurs rode the rest of the game out and started the season off with an impressive 3-0 win.
Full-time: Tottenham 3-0 Southampton
Here are the full-time match stats.
The match statistics really highlight how dominant Spurs were - they could've had even more and outperformed Southampton on xG by four goals. They also dominated possession and almost every other aspect of the game, with FIFA 22 predicting a straightforward win for Conte's side this weekend.
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