Tottenham play Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday
Tottenham Hotspur head to the south coast on Sunday looking to continue their impressive run of form when they face Brighton.
The focus switches back to the Premier League this weekend after Tottenham secured a 2-1 win against Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Victory in Hungary for Ange Postecoglou‘s side was their fifth win in as many matches and looked to have turned a corner after frustrating results against the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle and Leicester City.
Postecoglou is likely to make a number of changes to his side after he rested some key members of his Tottenham first-team squad for the match against Ferencvaros.
Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are among those likely to come back into the starting eleven at the American Express Stadium.
Chris Sutton’s Brighton v Spurs score prediction
BBC pundit Chris Sutton has shared his prediction ahead of the match between the two sides and believes that Tottenham will drop points.
Spurs head into the match this weekend currently in eighth place in the Premier League table and certainly need to take all three points in order to hopefully close the gap on those above them.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “I love watching Spurs and the same applies to Brighton at the moment.
“This should be known as the high-line derby, with the way both teams set up. It will be a great game for the neutral and there should be plenty of chances at both ends.
“Brighton lost for the first time under new manager Fabian Hurzeler last week, so this is about how they respond. Can they cause Tottenham problems? Absolutely.
“For Tottenham, it is about showing consistency after they put in an outstanding performance to beat Manchester United.
“James Maddison was so integral to what they did at Old Trafford, as were the Spurs centre-halves.
“As I’ve said many times, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have to be their best players because they get left exposed, but they can handle that.
“As I said this on this week’s Monday Night Club on Radio 5 Live, while everyone talks about the quality of Arsenal’s centre-halves, they always have the full-backs next to them. It is very different for the Spurs duo, because they leave the door open by playing the way they do.
“So I am expecting goals, but I actually think Brighton will get something out of the game.
“I have always felt that Spurs will soon give someone one hell of a beating sooner or later, but they are going to have to wait until after the international break because it is not happening here.”
Sutton’s prediction: 3-3
The importance of Micky van de Ven is key
Tottenham looked shaky at the back on more than one occasion against Ferencvaros, with the Hungarian side having broken in behind the defensive line.
The absence of Micky van de Ven from the side was clear to see, with the Dutchman’s pace often helping to snuff out the danger when the Spurs defensive line has to track back.
Arguably, the defender is Tottenham’s most important player if Tottenham wish to stick rigidly to Ange Postecoglou’s style of play – especially when Destiny Udogie could also be sidelined, there is a lack of pace on the left-hand side if Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin are called upon to cover.
Leave a Reply