Gareth Bale has credited Tottenham's come-from-behind victory over Southampton to Ryan Mason's half-time team talk, his first as interim manager. Danny Ings gave Southampton a first-half lead as Spurs failed to register a shot on target in the first half. Bale, back in the side after being frozen out under Jose Mourinho, levelled on the hour mark, before Heung-min Son's last-minute penalty sealed a perfect start for Mason.
Tottenham interim boss Ryan Mason says he is hopeful that Harry Kane may be back in training by the end of the week, but that the striker’s ankle injury remains a “day-by-day thing”. Kane is in a race against time to be fit for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley, where Spurs will be looking to end their 13-year trophy drought. The forward limped off after scoring twice during Friday night’s 2-2 draw with Everton, a match which turned out to be Jose Mourinho’s last in charge, and was not in the squad for Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Southampton.
Man City will be desperate to avoid allowing any late trepidation to creep into the Premier League title race as they travel to Villa Park this evening. Pep Guardiola’s side have looked champions-elect for months now, but the gap at the top is down to eight points, with second-placed Manchester United on a run of five straight wins in the league since last month’s derby success. The club were the first to formally pull out of the controversial breakaway last night, with the rest of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ all following suit.