Brighton vs. Tottenham
Venue: Amex Stadium
Kick off: 5:30PM
Brighton & Hove Albion head into today’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur having twice fought back from two-goal deficits to claim draws against Fulham and Southampton.
Spurs make the short trip to the Amex Stadium on the back of three successive defeats, two of which have been suffered having held winning positions.
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton would have been hugely disappointed when his side succumbed tamely at Watford on the opening weekend of the season, and may have even begun to worry about his team struggling to match their achievements of the last campaign.
However, Brighton have been excellent since the setback at Vicarage Road, with victory over Manchester United and successive comeback draws being recorded during the past five weeks.
Hughton will not necessarily be impressed with his side’s defending given that nine goals have been conceded in five matches, but he has been reassured about the character of his team heading into the next phase of the campaign.
Brighton are yet to keep a clean sheet in six matches in all competitions this season, and the south coast outfit are yet to reach half time in a Premier League contest without conceding a goal.
Meanwhile, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has looked unflappable throughout much of his reign at Spurs, but the Argentine showed signs of frustration with both his side’s results and the media in the aftermath of Tuesday’s defeat to Inter Milan.
Pochettino has faced frequent questions regarding his team selection after a summer without any first-team signings, and the Spurs boss has suggested that he took offence at being quizzed over the omissions of Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld.
The fitness levels of Harry Kane also remains a topic of conversation with the England international continuing to look below his best, and each factor is leading to Spurs needing their next win as soon as possible.
Three setbacks in a row – two of which have come having held leads well into the second half – have resulted in Spurs being left off the pace in both the Premier League and Champions League, and failure to beat Brighton could result in the club falling at least eight points off top spot.
Pochettino will still look to take the positives from his team’s showing at San Siro, and he has every reason to do so, with Spurs nullifying the Italian giants for much of the game and creating several chances to wrap up three points before Mauro Icardi’s wonder goal.
The Premier League fixture list is relatively kind to the North London outfit, but Spurs need to rediscover a decisive approach at both ends of the pitch before they entertain Barcelona at the start of next month.
More setbacks with the progression of the new stadium are also resulting in a dark cloud hanging over the club, but success at Brighton can go a long way to getting Spurs back on the right track.
Brighton possible XI: Ryan, Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Knockart, Stephens, Propper, Bissouma, March, Murray.
Tottenham possible XI: Vorm, possible, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Wanyama, Dembele, Moura, Eriksen, Son, Kane.