Southampton close out the round of post-Christmas fixtures when they host former manager Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham side on Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s.

The Saints sit eighth in the Premier League after Everton’s Boxing Day win took Ronald Koeman’s side above his former employers.

Tottenham know that whatever happens they will remain fifth, but could go back to within a point of fourth-placed rivals Arsenal with a win on the south coast.

Claude Puel’s side go into the game on a high after their 3-1 over local rivals Bournemouth last week, a game that could well become a fresh derby given time and enough encounters.

Both sides will have been frustrated to have had to wait ten days since their last outings, where Spurs also racked up three points with a win over Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

Despite having had plenty of time to prepare for the clash, it is the first in a busy week for Southampton, who host West Brom on New Year’s Eve, before a trip to Everton on 2nd January.

With that in mind it may well be wise to rotate a little, meaning there are chances for others to get a go in the side, here are THREE who deserve a crack against Spurs…

Pierre Emile Hojbjerg

The Danish midfield man was heavily criticised for his first half performance against Bournemouth. However, the weakness in the middle of the park during that first period could more so be put down to the absence of Oriol Romeu through suspension than any individual errors, the whole midfield trio looked out-of-sorts without the Spaniard early on.

With that in mind, and with Romeu returning to the fold for the visit of Tottenham, the former Bayern Munich man should be given a second chance to shine and show the St. Mary’s crowd what he is really capable of.

Josh Sims

The youngster announced himself with a Man of the Match performance against Everton at St. Mary’s earlier this season but has since seen his game time limited.

This is likely to be an intentional move from Puel in order to manage his development and not throw everything at the 19-year-old at once. However, Tottenham offer a similar challenge to the Toffees and one in which Sims could excel.

Jose Fonte

The Portugal international was the main talking point ahead of Saints’ clash with Bournemouth before Christmas as the captain was spotted having an ‘animated’ discussion with boss Claude Puel on the touchline before being named on the bench.

Thankfully for Puel, Bournemouth were well off the pace that day and there were no worries at the back. However, Spurs propose a different threat and the European champion needs a chance to show just how important he is to this side.