Picking a Combined Southampton-Tottenham Side Based on Form This Year
When Tottenham Hotspur face Southampton at St. Mary's, it will be a battle of what might have been.
Two unfancied sides that surprised many, they remaining competitive with the top sides far beyond the point at which they would have been expected to drop away.
Unfortunately, reality has bitten, and both the Saints and Spurs are well outside the race for the Champions League places.
Despite that disappointment, both sides have enjoyed positive seasons.
Southampton were widely expected to be relegated following a summer in which they lost many of their best players and their manager. Despite those significant setbacks, they remained in the top four for much of the season and have enjoyed the best defensive record in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino was one who joined the exodus, moving from the Solent to north London, and much was expected of him.
Neither side will end the season in the Champions League places, but both have players who have enjoyed excellent seasons. Who will make it into our combined starting 11?
Goalkeeper
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Hugo Lloris
This combined lineup involved some tough decisions. Deserving players on both sides had to be left out in order to fit into one team.
With all due respect to Fraser Forster, the goalkeeping position was somewhat more straightforward.
Hugo Lloris has been the best goalkeeper in England and certainly the most exposed. With an error-prone and inexperienced defence ahead of him, Lloris has been the last and sometimes only line of defence at Spurs all season.
His consistent excellence makes him a simple choice as the goalkeeper in this combined lineup.
Defence
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Nathaniel Clyne, Jose Fonte, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose
Southampton have the tightest defence in the Premier League, and much of that comes down to their central defenders.
Jose Fonte, unlucky to not be named as a candidate for Player of the Year, has been exemplary in his 26 appearances this season and formed the bedrock of the Saints back line.
He is a certain starter in our combined lineup, but his partner requires a little more investigation.
In most matches this season, Fonte's partner has been Belgian Toby Alderweireld. The Atletico loanee provides a touch of silk to Fonte's steel.
Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier, who form Spurs' most common partnership, have each had moments of excellence, but neither has reached the consistency required to beat out Alderweireld.
Vertonghen in particular has had moments, and even entire games, where his level has exceeded Alderweireld's average, but he has too many lapses on concentration to oust his international team-mate.
Southampton's central-defensive partnership of Alderweireld and Fonte make it into our lineup.
Spurs have lacked a consistent right-back this season while Nathaniel Clyne has been among the Premier League's best and most consistent defenders. His position in our team is almost as certain as Lloris'.
At left-back, Ryan Bertrand has also been solid but, much like England manager Roy Hodgson, we're going with Danny Rose.
Rose defends like his life is on the line—urgent and aggressive. At the same time, he has quietly been one of the most effective attacking full-backs in England.
He has his critics, but Rose has resurrected his career this season and earned his place in our lineup.
Midfield
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Victor Wanyama, Nabil Bentaleb and Morgan Schneiderlin
Midfield is possibly the most competitive area of our mixed team.
Both Spurs and Southampton have enjoyed the services of some of the most effective midfields in this year's Premier League.
Ronald Koeman built a remarkably effective midfield in double-quick time after arriving from Feyenoord in the summer.
Leaning heavily on the experience of Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama, Koeman added the multi-talented Dusan Tadic.
Spurs' midfield has been less defensively minded but equally decisive. Against Arsenal and Chelsea in particular, the middle of the pitch was Tottenham territory. Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason, both unlikely starters back in August, are among the most exciting young players in the Premier League.
In our mixed lineup, we're going with a three-man midfield, and two Saints make it with one Spurs player alongside them.
As impressive as Tadic's debut season in England has been, he is the one to miss out with the brutally effective Wanyama-Schneiderlin tandem too strong to ignore.
Alongside them, Bentaleb also makes it. An excellent player at 20 years old, Bentaleb's ceiling as a player is awfully high. He'll benefit from having less defensive responsibility in the system too.
Attack
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Christian Eriksen, Sadio Mane and Harry Kane
Spurs and Southampton are not among the most prolific sides in this year's Premier League, but they still boast some impressive attacking options.
Graziano Pelle has only eight goals, but in a team that concedes so few, his scoring has often been decisive. Beyond scoring, Pelle has been a hard-working team player. Impressing with his strength and hold-up play, Pelle has consistently brought others into the team.
Shane Long was a surprise signing in the summer, but he has also been a qualified success.
Neither of Saints' centre-forwards were ever going to keep out Harry Kane.
The local boy is a derby winner, debut England scorer and relentless pursuer of goals. Scoring 20 Premier League goals is remarkable for any player. Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba, among the most prolific strikers in Premier League history, have each managed to reach 20 goals in a season just twice.
Kane is already in rich company and certainly in a league of his own in this mixed lineup.
On the left flank, borrowing a page from Mauricio Pochettino's book, we're going to select Kane's Tottenham team-mate Christian Eriksen.
The little Dane has endured some less-than-stellar performances in recent weeks, but he was a more important player than even Kane in the first half of the season. His deadly free-kicks and penchant for a decisive moment mark him out as the perfect man or our mixed up lineup.
Nacer Chadli has enjoyed a prolific season, while Spurs' other wingers have all had their ups and downs.
None of them can match Southampton's Senegalese star Sadio Mane. Signed from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer, Mane hit the ground running in England. He has six goals and two assists in his debut campaign, but his impact isn't measured in simple numbers. He is a livewire, bringing excitement and deadly pace to the team.
With Eriksen on our left, we need some speed, and Mane is the man.
Totting Up
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Our mixed lineup shakes out like this.
GK - Hugo Lloris
LB - Danny Rose
CB - Jose Fonte
CB - Toby Alderweireld
RB - Nathaniel Clyne
CM - Morgan Schneiderlin
CM - Nabil Bentaleb
CM - Victor Wanyama
LW - Christian Eriksen
RW - Sadio Mane
ST - Harry Kane
Southampton finish up with six players to Tottenham's five, and if this is any indication, their Premier League clash on Saturday should be a close-run thing indeed.
