Tottenham Hotspur face Southampton in an important Premier League tie on Wednesday evening.

The game follows a convincing 3-1 win for Tottenham against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Saturday night after which Conte expressed his happiness at having Heung-Min Son and Cristian Romero return to the side.

The game on Wednesday looks to be a close encounter with the two sides drawing 1-1 back in December.

Here are the key quotes from the pre-match press conference:

  • On team news

Tottenham were without Eric Dier, Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga for their game against Brighton and will be without them again for the game against the saints.

"No news. Eric Dier is not available and it's the same for Skipp and Tanganga. The others are all available."

On Dier, Conte said:

"He had the same problems in the past before to be able to play the last game against Chelsea. It's not serious but it's the same as that problem."

On Skipp, Conte said:

"I hope to have him back very soon. The medical department told me two weeks but I hope to have him available in a week or 10 days maximum because we're talking about an important player for Tottenham Hotspur."

  • Bentancur and Kulusevski

Both Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench against Brighton to make their debut on Saturday and have been getting to grips with Conte's demands well.

"I think they're working very well and I'm pleased with the way they understand our idea of football.

"For sure they need a bit of time to get into the team and understand the technical aspect, but I know I can count on them.

"This league is not for all because you have to match quality and physicality to play in this league. We're talking about two players able to play in this league and they can help us a lot."

  • Son and Romero updates 

The return of Son and Romero to the Tottenham side has come as a big boost and Antonio had his say on the pair. 

On Romero:

"He is a new signing for me because he played three games with me and only one in the league. He is an important player for me and the team. He is strong and he anticipates.

"He has good experience and I like him. He has a lot of space for improvement."
 

On Son:

"I have to be very good to manage him, because I repeat he is coming back from a serious injury but now he's OK, he's fully fit and my expectation tomorrow is to see a great game from him."

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