Flynn Downes looks like a strong contender to commit 2 or more fouls at St Mary’s on Sunday night. No Southampton player has committed more fouls than Downes in the Premier League this season. The tough-tackling Saints midfielder has averaged 2.15 fouls per-game across his 13 starts in the Premier League this term. He has given away multiple free-kicks in 8 of those 13 appearances, including 5 of his last 6.

There is plenty of scope for that trend to continue when Downes comes up against Tottenham on Sunday night. The 25-year-old could be tasked with shackling Spurs playmaker James Maddison, who is drawing a team-high average of 2.33 fouls per 90 in the top-flight this term.

Another Southampton player who looks worth siding with to get on the wrong side of the referee is Taylor Harwood-Bellis. The Saints defender has sinned 15 times across his 14 Premier League appearances this season so far. He has been guilty of at least 1 offence in each of his previous 4 top-flight outings, including 2 away at Aston Villa last Saturday. Harwood-Bellis’ habit for committing fouls has coincided with him collecting 5 yellow cards this season.

The 22-year-old is likely to cross paths with Tottenham’s Heung-min Son on Sunday night. The Spurs skipper is earning his side a shade under 1 free-kick per-game in this season’s Premier League.

Given Heung-min Son’s knack for drawing fouls from the opposition, it makes sense to side with him to do exactly that at St Mary’s on Sunday night. The South Korean star has drawn an average of 0.92 fouls per-game from Spurs’ Premier League foes this season.

Dig a little deeper, and it can be seen that Son has been fouled in each of his last 5 starts in the top-flight. He has also won his side a set-piece in each of the 3 Premier League away games that he has started for Tottenham this term to date.

The Tottenham captain is expected to come up against the aforementioned Taylor Harwood-Bellis on Sunday night, who is committing an average of 1.07 fouls per-game in the Premier League this season.

Dejan Kulusevski is another player that merits support to earn Tottenham a free-kick on Sunday night. The classy Spurs playmaker has drawn a combined total of 19 fouls across his 15 Premier League appearances this season so far. In fact, the Swedish ace has been fouled once or more in all but two of his 15 top-flight outings this term, most recently reeling in 2 free-kicks from Chelsea.

Against Southampton this weekend, Kulusevski could potentially be positioned in direct opposition to Mateus Fernandes. The young Portuguese midfielder has averaged 1.29 fouls per-game through his opening 14 Premier League appearances of the campaign.

Look to Tyler Dibling to be fouled 2 or more times when Southampton take on Tottenham on Sunday night. The Saints teenage sensation has put in a string of eye-catching performances this season. That can be attributed to Dibling drawing a team-high average of 2.21 fouls per-game in the Premier League this season. In fact, he has been fouled on multiple occasions in 8 of his 14 top-flight appearances this term, including three of his last four.

In direct opposition to Dibling is likely to be Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie. The 22-year-old is averaging 1.27 fouls per 90 in the Premier League this season, falling foul of the referee 3 times against Chelsea last Sunday.

Given the aforementioned Destiny Udogie’s tendency to overstep the mark, a minimum of 2 fouls from the Tottenham defender should be within range at St Mary’s on Sunday night. The Spurs left-back has been reprimanded by the match official on multiple occasions in 5 of his 15 Premier League appearances this season. It’s also worth noting that Udogie has given away 2 or more free-kicks in 3 of his last 6 top-flight outings, including last weekend’s clash with Chelsea.

The Italian international could have one of the most unenviable jobs on the pitch on Sunday night as he tries to keep Southampton foul magnet Tyler Dibling quiet. The young Saints star has been fouled 14 times across his last 4 Premier League appearances.

Flynn Downes is the one to watch from a cards perspective in this game. The all-action Southampton midfielder has already served a one-game suspension in the Premier League this season for collecting 5 yellow cards. He returned from that ban at Aston Villa last Saturday and tackled his way into trouble for the sixth time this term. That means Downes has been booked in 3 of his last 5 appearances for Southampton in the Premier League, making him an obvious candidate to have his name taken against Tottenham on Sunday night.

Downes is expected to square up against Spurs’ James Maddison, who is being fouled an average of 2.33 times per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.

Dejan Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s standout performer this season, making him an attractive option to either score or assist at St Mary’s on Sunday night. The Spurs star came off the bench to rescue a point for his side against Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night. Kulusevski also got himself on the scoresheet against Chelsea last Sunday, so he should come into this clash full of confidence.

The Sweden international has registered a quietly impressive 11 goal involvements across his 23 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions this season. That doesn’t bode well for a Southampton side that are rooted to the foot of the table and without a clean sheet in 14 of their 15 Premier League matches this term. On top of that, the struggling Saints have shipped 11 goals across their last 4 top-flight home games, something Spurs ace Kulusevski is more than capable of capitalising on.