Tottenham had been unbeaten since the first day of the Premier League, a feat that spanned 14 games, until Newcastle secured a shock 2-1 win in the dying minutes last week.
Mauricio Pochettino has done an incredible job since arriving at White Hart Lane last year. The Argentine has put faith in his fledgling players, fielding the youngest team in the league.
Their charge for the Champions League places hit an iceberg with the loss to Newcastle, as the Lilywhites missed out on a chance to secure a place in the top four.
Spurs are now three points behind Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United who have been struggling recently, losing 2-1 to Bournemouth last Saturday.
A week ago, Tottenham were also charged with failing to maintain that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion after they surrounded the referee in the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies received the same caution.
It seems to be going slightly downhill for Spurs, with their last three results culminating in two draws and a loss. Can they pick themselves back up?
Key man Mousa Dembele was missing from Sunday’s clash with Newcastle with a reported foot injury, rather than the stomach bug suffered in midweek that caused him to miss the Europa League clash against AS Monaco. The return of Nacer Chadli and Nabil Bentaleb will also give Spurs a Christmas boost when they face Southampton on Saturday.
Saints have also struggled recently, currently lying in 12th, five points behind the residents of White Hart Lane. Their last three results include two losses and a draw in the league, as well as that 6-1 demolition at the hands of Liverpool in the Capital One Cup.
Both sides are looking to bounce back from their losses and put their Premier League runs back on track, particularly with Southampton chasing European football. They secured that last year before being knocked out in the early stages by Danish club FC Midtjylland.
Pochettino will also be returning to his former club, hoping to secure all three points for his current side to keep the heat on fourth place.
Southampton will be a tough challenge with a home backing, but under the Argentine boss, Spurs have a different mentality which means they will bounce back from the Newcastle loss.
Last season, the team finished in sixth place, with Pochettino entering the mix in May 2014 and taking the team to the League Cup final in January 2015, where Spurs eventually lost to Chelsea at Wembley.
Spurs have already equaled their draws tally of last season, but they have only lost twice so far this year, meaning they still occupy the driver’s seat for fourth position.
Compared to their last campaign, Spurs are doing well but the North London club has the tendency to drop off further into the season, as seen in their fifth and sixth-placed finishes over the last couple of years. Will this season be different for Tottenham Hotspur, or will the team’s season falter and stutter like the last campaigns watched by loyal fans?
The pressing style of football under Pochettino works for the club but the problem at the moment seems to be scoring goals. With Harry Kane and Erik Lamela clearly capable of scoring goals and hat-tricks – the latter netted a lethal trio of goals in one half against Monaco in the Europa League – it is not quite understandable why this does not translate to goals in the league when they are needed.
After Southampton, Tottenham have Norwich at home, and Watford away in the league. Those should be result in fairly simple Spurs victories and ones that are desperately needed to continue the charge for a better finish than last year.
Matches which appear much trickier do not come until February against Manchester City in particular, though there is the surprise package of Leicester City to negotiate in the middle of January.
A win against the Saints will take Tottenham players and fans into the Christmas holidays with a hunger and confidence to get back to winning ways.
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