Afternoon all. So, after a busy Saturday of Premier League action, it restarts this afternoon with Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur - two sides with a reputation of playing attractive football. Let's hope that it lives up to the billing.

There's obviously quite a bit to discuss, what with recent sackings etc, but the team news is just starting to filter through to us. Let's begin with how the home team will start this clash...

SOUTHAMPTON XI: Gazzaniga; Chambers, Lovren, Hooiveld, Fox; Cork, Schneiderlin, S. Davis, Lallana; Rodriguez, Lambert

SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Cropper, Yoshida, Fonte, Ramirez, Ward-Prowse, Reed, Gallagher

Captain Adam Lallana has returned to the Southampton side, having started last weekend's trip to Newcastle United as a substitute. James Ward-Prowse has dropped down to the bench, while Luke Shaw is not involved at all. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Argentine goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga continues between the posts in the absence of an injured Artur Boruc.

And here is how Spurs will start the match...

TOTTENHAM XI: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Chriches, Rose; Lamela, Dembele, Eriksen, Sigurdsson; Adebayor, Soldado

TOTTENHAM SUBS: Friedel, Capoue, Fredericks, Bentaleb, Holtby, Chadli, Defoe

Just as he did on Wednesday night, Sherwood has gone for a 4-4-2 formation rather than the 4-5-1 that Villas-Boas preferred. Jermain Defoe has dropped out, which means that Roberto Soldado has come in to partner Emmanuel Adebayor in attack. Elsewhere, Cristian Eriksen and Erik Lamela had been included in midfield, while Vlad Chiriches will play alongside Michael Dawson at the heart of the defence.

The inclusion of Adebayor is an interesting one. He was frozen out by Villas-Boas, but was recalled by Sherwood during the week and although he is lacking match fitness, he scored a good goal during the defeat to West Ham. There is no doubting the ability that he possesses, but it's fair to say that he doesn't always apply himself in the correct way. He's been given another chance today, let's see if he makes the most of it.

Staying with Adebayor, he's just been speaking to Sky Sports News. Here's some of what he had to say: "I've been working hard and I knew my chance would come - I was ready for it. We have a new manager and a new approach to the game. He's trying to give everyone their confidence back, that's what we've lost. We can turn this over. I will keep trying my best and fighting for the team."

Of course, it will be interesting to see what impact Adebayor has on Soldado. The Spaniard has largely played as a lone striker this term and for most of it he has cut an isolated and frustrated figure. Now he has a partner, which will surely aid his performance.

And here is a statistic from Opta that both Soldado and Adebayor are bound to be desperate to put right today: "No striker has scored for Tottenham in the Premier League since 27 October. Problem."

Today they are up against a Southampton team that have conceded just 15 goals this season. Only Everton can match that and no other side can better it. Spurs may look to exploit the left side of the defence today, though, because Daniel Fox has been called up in place of Shaw. He's not blessed with great pace, so you'd imagine Tottenham will look to test him.

This is actually an interesting encounter for Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino, because he has been linked with replacing Villas-Boas at White Hart Lane. The Argentine said during the week that he was happy where he is and even had a bit of a dig at the way Spurs are run: "As a manager what's really important is that the sporting aspect is under my control, in terms of signings. Without my agreement no signings go through, and those two basic things are very important for any manager," he told reporters.

The man currently in the seat is Sherwood, who has just been talking to Sky Sports News. Here's what he had to say: "We've got very good players. If they don't give the ball away they haven't got to get it back. We are going to respect Southampton, we know what their threats are. We want our players to relax and try to play. They are listening to a new voice now and I want to tweak the way we play."

PREDICTION: Right, it's not long until we get started so let's have a guess at the score of this one. Hopefully this is not tempting fate, but there could well be goals today. These are two teams are not just good, but also can be quick in possession. Let's go for a 2-2 draw, with Adebayor grabbing at least one for the visitors.

The players have come out of the dressing rooms and will soon be making their way on to the pitch. There is also a good atmosphere building inside the St Mary's Stadium.

GAME ON! Here we go then. Tottenham, attacking from left to right, get this contest underway.

The Spurs fans are in fine voice at the moment and they've just seen their side mount an early attack as Eriksen swung over a corner from the right. It's easily cleared by the home defence, but a sign that Tottenham are eager to impose themselves early on.

Incidentally, Sherwood has opted to start the match in the stands rather than in the dugout. No doubt he will soon be down on the touchline if he does not like what he is seeing from his players.

It's hectic stuff right now because every time each team gains possession, the other pounces and swarms until they regain the ball. Surely they can't keep this sort of pace up for 90 minutes, can they?!

Lovely move by Spurs and signs that Soldado and Adebayor could forge a decent understanding. Erik Lamlea releases Soldado down the right and the Spanish striker hooks a cross into the danger zone for his partner, who despite stretching, cannot make a clean contact. Nonetheless, that's a real warning sign for Southampton.

Well, that didn't look like coming, it must be said! Spurs had largely been in control, but they give Lallana far too much space 20 yards out and he swivels smartly to face goal. His right-footed strike is not the cleanest, but the ball rolls beyond the reach of a diving Hugo Lloris and inside the post. That is the Southampton skipper's fourth goal of the campaign. Early setback for Sherwood and Spurs, who need to respond.

It must be said, that goal really exploited the weakness in the Spurs tactics today. Quite simply, they have no defence-minded midfield player and it showed with the amount of space that Lallana was afforded. The likes of Eriksen, Lamela and co have no real interest in doing the dirty work.

And here comes Sherwood, who is now on the touchline. It's unlikely that he will make an alteration to his team this early on, but he does have Etienne Capoue sat on the bench. The Frenchman is a specialist holding midfielder and if this carries on, surely he will be introduced.

Here's a positive stat from WhoScored.com concerning Lallana: "Adam Lallana: Has scored 4 goals in 17 PL apps this season, 1 more than he scored in 30 apps last season (3)."

CHANCE! A big opportunity for Southampton to double their advantage has fallen by the wayside. Tottenham full-back Danny Rose surrenders possession and the hosts spring forward. It ends with Lallana playing in Jay Rodriguez, who manages to evade Michael Dawson on the edge of the area. He attempts to find the top corner of the net, but gets his angles wrong and shoots over.

Stunning goal from Spurs and it's their front two that link so well. Adebayor sends Soldado wide with a through pass, but the Spanish centre-forward manages to keep it in play. Meanwhile, Adebayor had made his way into the area and when the cross was swung over, the Togolese striker managed to stick out his foot far enough to volley in from close range. That's great combination play and it came just moments after Rodriguez fluffed his lines up the other end.

And here's an Adebayor stat courtesy of Opta: "84 - Emmanuel Adebayor now has 84 Premier League goals, level with Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo. Firepower."

The home side appear to have been a little rocked by that equaliser. Their passing is nowhere near as composed as it was earlier and mistakes are starting to creep in. Having only won one of their last seven, it wouldn't be a surprise if doubts had surfaced within the team.

More good football from Spurs as they pour men forward. The ball is eventually worked into the area and after Soldado fails to get his shot away, it drops to the feet of Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelander goes for pure power, but Steven Davis shows great bravery to throw himself in the way to block. Spurs are starting to turn the screw, though.

BOOKING! The first yellow card of the afternoon goes to Tottenham midfielder Sigurdsson for a foul on Davis. It's his first offence of the match so you could have a degree of sympathy for him. Having said that, it was a pretty cynical challenge.

There will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

So, referee Chris Foy has brought an end to what was a rather entertaining first half of football. Both sides have done things well, but at the same time there have been some errors. It's all made for a good game and a draw is probably about fair at this stage.

From Tottenham's point of view, interim boss Sherwood was bold with his team selection, which didn't include a holding midfielder. That was punished by the Lallana goal, but since then they have arguably been the better side and scored a really good goal. Soldado looks more content to have a partner by his side and between him and Adebayor there has been signs of a potential understanding up front.

As for Southampton, it's strange because you would have expected them to take control of proceedings after Lallana had put them 1-0 up. For whatever reason, they didn't and unusually for them they've been a bit wasteful in possession. It's meant that they haven't been able to exploit the gap in the Spurs midfield as much as they should have.

Even though they have got themselves back into the game, it still could be worth Spurs introducing Capoue into the action. They need more of a shield in front of the back four to prevent the Lallana goal from happening again. In truth, he could come on for either Lamela or Eriksen because neither have been particularly effective in advanced roles.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The players are back with us and Southampton restart proceedings at the St Mary's Stadium.

It's been Tottenham that have started the second half brightly and Adebayor in particular. He's just shown great pace and strength to work himself some space on the left flank. From there he crosses into the area looking for Soldado, but he's crowded out and the home side are able to scramble the ball clear.

SUBSTITUTION: The first change of the clash is made by Spurs and it's a forced one because Mousa Dembele has picked up an ankle injury. He limps off and it's a surprising change because on comes Nabil Bentaleb, who is making his Premier League debut. The 19-year-old is a French-Algerian and he usually operates in the centre of midfield.

It must be said that Spurs deserve to be in front because they came out with some real intent for the second half. It's all about Rose, who ventures forward from left-back. He gets a bit of luck when his wayward pass finds Eriksen, who in turn releases the defender inside the Southampton area. He then drills in a cross, which Jos Hooiveld has to deal with, but unfortunately for him and the home team he can only succeed in diverting the ball into his own net. They need to respond now because Spurs look to be full of confidence.

Week after week Lallana looks the part - surely there must be a seat for him on the plane to Brazil next summer?! On this occasion he gets beyond the Spurs defence to meet a through pass from Jack Cork. Lloris rushes out to meet him, but instead of going for goal, Lallana must have had eyes in the back of his head because he cut the ball back for Rickie Lambert, who had the simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded net. Top class from the Southampton skipper. Moments later, Spurs make a substitution with Lamela coming off for Nacer Chadli.

SAVE! It's like basketball out there right now! All of a sudden Adebayor bursts through unopposed and he also beats Gazzaniga to the ball. The Southampton spread himself well, though, and is able to deny the Spurs striker.

This time Adebayor comes out on top from his duel with Gazzaniga and Spurs lead again - what a match this is turning out to be! The Spurs striker gets a little bit of luck when the ball breaks for him inside the area, but the composure that he shows to curl the ball in from a tight angle was a joy to watch. He's vindicated Sherwood's decision to recall him here and now he's on a hat-trick!

CHANCE! Oh dear Soldado, he really should have put Spurs 4-2 up. It's the sort of chance that he's made a reputation of converting down the years, but his lack of confidence was there for all to see as he raced through. The Southampton defence went walkabout and left him with the time and space, but he dragged an effort from 10 yards out well wide of the post. That's a bad miss. Meanwhile, Southampton substitute James Ward-Prowse has been booked for a foul.

CHANCES! You've got to feel sorry for Soldado because it's just not happened for him since he arrived at Spurs. It's another golden opportunity as Chadli picks him out unmarked inside the area with a low cross. He meets it on the slide, but sends the ball bouncing into the ground and wide of the target. Then, moments later, he fires into the side netting from a narrow angle. He can't buy a goal right now! Southampton have also made another change, taking off Davis and bringing on Gaston Ramirez.

In the last few minutes Southampton have posed very little as an attacking threat. To be honest, they can't really get hold of the ball. They need to get Lallana involved because he's been their most effective player today by a huge margin. Interesting last 14 or so minutes coming up.

SAVE! And right on cue, Lallana almost gets his second of the match. It's great work from Ramirez, who cuts in from the right and spots his teammates's darting run into the penalty area. There's just a little too much weight on the pass, though, and Lloris is alert enough to come off his line and snuff out the danger.

SUBSTITUTION: Final swap of the match for the Saints and it's a positive one. Left-back Fox is hauled off and he is replaced by young striker Sam Gallagher, who made his Premier League debut away at Newcastle last weekend.

SAVE! First sight of goal for young Gallagher as he puts through into the area by Lallana, but his contact is poor and he can only loft the ball into the hands of a waiting Lloris. It seemed as though he was in two minds whether to cross or shoot.

SUBSTITUTION: He's had a good game today, but Soldado's wait for a goal will continue as he's been replaced by Jermain Defoe for the final few moments. Still, it's a positive move from Sherwood, who has suggested with it that he is keen for his side to score a fourth goal rather than shut up shop.

There will be five minutes of stoppage time for Southampton to salvage something from this game.

CHANCE! Decent opportunity for the Saints as Ward-Prowse's corner causes big problems. Lloris can only punch as far as Lambert, who is waiting on the edge of the area. His half-volley bounces into the ground, but instead of working the Spurs keeper, the ball lands on the roof of the net. Time is running out for the home team.

What a difference a week makes for Spurs! Thrashed at home by Liverpool, they've now claimed three points courtesy of a 3-2 victory away at Southampton. They move above Manchester United into seventh, while Southampton continue to slowly slip down the standings.

That's all we have time for from the St Mary's Stadium. Thanks for joining us and until next time, goodbye.