Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham Hotspur) has once again started from the bench, which is hindering the team's poor performance.

Tottenham will face Southampton in the 31st round of the 2024-2025 Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on the 6th (Korean time).

Currently, Tottenham remains in 16th place in the league with 34 points (10 wins, 4 draws, 16 losses). Southampton is at the bottom in 20th place with 10 points (2 wins, 4 draws, 24 losses). Tottenham should easily capture the 'bottom team' at home, but Southampton is expected to go all out in this match as a loss would confirm their relegation.

Ahead of the match, 'Football London' unveiled Tottenham's predicted starting lineup. Son Heung-min's name was not included. Reporter Rob Guest emphasized that "Micky van de Ven should be among those excluded from the starting lineup alongside Jed Spence, James Maddison, and Son Heung-min."

He predicted that Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke, Matisse Tell, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Moura, Pape Sarr, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Archie Gray, Pedro Porro, and Guglielmo Vicario would start instead of Son Heung-min.

Guest noted, "Head coach Ange Postecoglou said he wouldn't rotate too many players, but there is a high possibility he will give some key players a rest."

However, some might see it as a choice too late. Tottenham has already fallen to the worst level in the league. The 16th place is the lowest ranking since the Premier League was established in 1992. To participate in European competitions next season, they need to finish at least in the top 8, but the gap has widened too much. Now, Tottenham's only realistic chance to play in Europe next season is to win the UEFA Europa League (UEL).

Tottenham has already lost 16 times in 30 league matches. This is the first time since 1977. With 8 league matches remaining, Tottenham does not have many opportunities to recover. Even if they manage to climb a few more places in the rankings, it will not hold much significance.

Not only 'Football London' but also the opinion that coach Postecoglou will rotate his players is predominant. Other outlets shared the same view. Both '90MIN' and the Tottenham fan community 'Spurs Web' predicted Johnson, Solanke, and Tell would form the Tottenham attack. The opinion only varied on whether Ben Davies and Yves Bissouma would start.

'The Standard' also predicted Son Heung-min would be on the bench. The outlet stated, "Van de Ven, Son Heung-min, and Maddison are likely to rest," and added, "Son Heung-min could be substituted for Johnson or Tell in the front three. Mikey Moore is also expected to play for a few minutes, and Richarlison is scheduled to return from a muscle injury," but expected that Wilson Odobert rather than Tell would start.

As seen in the matches against Manchester City, Bournemouth, and Fulham, Son Heung-min is expected to come off the bench in the second half. He played for 23 minutes against Manchester City, and in the matches against Bournemouth and Fulham, he was substituted in at the start of the second half and played for 45 minutes. It is very likely that a similar scenario will unfold this time as well.

The reason is the UEFA Europa League (UEL) match taking place mid-week. Tottenham will host Eintracht Frankfurt on the 11th for the first leg of the quarter-finals. Coach Postecoglou intends to put all his efforts into the UEL.

Considering the league performance, focusing on the UEL is a realistic choice. Tottenham, which is in 16th place in the Premier League, must exert all efforts to defeat Frankfurt, which is currently in 3rd place in the Bundesliga. Furthermore, Tottenham played against Chelsea on the 4th and had little time to rest, making it essential to manage the condition of key players like Son Heung-min, who played the full game.

From Son Heung-min's perspective, he is in a situation where his personal records are at stake. He has scored more than 10 goals in every season since joining Tottenham in the 2015-2016 season, except for that debut season. Even in the 2022-2023 season, where he struggled significantly due to an ankle fracture and sports hernia, he still scored 10 goals.

However, this season, Son Heung-min is tied with 7 goals and 9 assists in the league. By adding just 3 goals and 1 assist, he can achieve 10 goals and 10 assists. If he fails to score 10 goals, he will break his streak of scoring 10 goals in consecutive seasons. Time is running out. If Son Heung-min continues to be substituted in the second half, it will become increasingly difficult to reach 3 additional goals.

In many ways, Son Heung-min is experiencing the worst season at Tottenham.

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