Brighton and Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur
Date: 31/01/2021
K/O: 19:15
Venue: Amex Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Brighton’s slight turn of fortunes in recent matches will be put to the test as Tottenham Hotspur travel to the south coast.
Tottenham suffered at the hands of Liverpool on Thursday night, with an idle display that will have left Mourinho in a bad mood to say the least. The Spurs boss can’t complain about the 3-1 result but most certainly can complain about the way in which Liverpool were able to see out the lead. Tottenham looked promising for finite periods of the match, but not at all in the last 25 minutes after Liverpool scored their third. The lack of effort to mount a comeback was staggering and was epitomised by the introduction of Gareth Bale towards the end of proceedings.
Although this was Tottenham’s first loss of the New Year, it was their first match against top tier opposition and the London outfit were not up to the test. Spurs’ title hopes took a big hit on Thursday simply because they weren’t able to compete with a fellow contender – and a struggling one at that.
Some concerning, but perhaps even inevitable news, emerged from the Tottenham camp after Harry Kane had to vacate the pitch against Liverpool. His ankle injury will probably keep him out against Brighton and perhaps for longer. Mourinho has a decision to make whether to get Carlos Vinicius into the first-team swing, in preparation for what could be Harry Kane’s annual long-term injury.
Brighton have been grinding out some decent enough results to keep 18th placed Fulham at arm’s length, although the Cottagers have a game in hand on the Seagulls. These two sides met on Wednesday evening and played out a fairly exciting 0-0 stalemate at the Amex. With Fulham growing in confidence, Brighton were probably the happier to go home with a point.
Brighton under Graham Potter have picked up an admirable reputation for attacking desire and bravery, but without the final product on many occasions. Having said that, the issue has slowly been resolved as the season has progressed. With Tottenham’s counter-attacking prowess evident, even at the worst of times, the South Coast outfit will need to take as many of their chances as possible in order to gain the upper hand.
It doesn’t help that the Seagulls have not won a home game all season. The Amex has not been half as effective without the roaring fans and Tottenham will be well aware of this, having a decent away win rate themselves. Graham Potter may be putting some desperate faith in the likes of Dunk and Webster at the back.
Team News
Brighton & Hove Albion
Striker Danny Welbeck hasn’t featured for Brighton in 2021 due to a knee problem but is likely to be back in training within a week. Full-back Tariq Lamptey will however be out for a little longer with his hamstring injury, as will Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Meanwhile, Izquierdo continues to build up match fitness having been out of senior action since April 2019.
Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane suffered an injury blow to both of his ankles against Liverpool on Sunday. As a result, he could be out for a number of weeks. Sergio Reguilon missed this fixture and is likely to remain sidelined while recovering from a muscle injury. Giovani Lo Celso remains out with an injury he picked up just before Christmas.
Predicted Starting XIs
Brighton & Hove Albion (3-5-2): Sanchez; Burn, Dunk, Webster; March, Lallana, Bissouma, White, Veltman; Trossard, Maupay
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Davies, Dier, Rodon, Aurier; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Son, Ndombele, Bergwijn; Vinicius
Score Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Brighton’s home record is against them and, although Spurs have struggled to see games out this season, you’d expect them to claim the victory over the home side, who are not scoring freely.
