Tottenham Hotspur will welcome Brighton and Hove Albion for the Premier League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 16.
The race for the top four places in the Premier League has been full of twists and turns and we were witness to another major tale last weekend. As Tottenham cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory away from home at Aston Villa their north London rivals Arsenal ended up suffering a shock 2-1 upset at home against Brighton, which has complicated the European qualification scenario.
Korean forwards Son Heung min scored a brilliant hattrick while January signing Dejan Kulusevski continued with his brilliant form and got his name on the scoresheet which help Antonio Conte’s side pick up all three points. That result is, of course, positive news for Tottenham fans, who now have the top-four fate in their own hands.
Neighbours Arsenal are in the fifth position and have a game in hand. However, it is Spurs who are in four and are three points clear of their rivals. They also have a better goal difference heading into the final stages of the league, with seven games left to be played.
Harry Kane’s scoring shoes have been put under question recently, with the England captain failing to grab a goal at the Villa Park as well. However, he still continues to exert an immense influence in attack for Conte’s side. Kane set up two of Son’s goals, taking his assists tally in the Premier League to eight for the campaign. He is just four behind Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold, who has registered 12 assists in the competition so far this season.
Having suffered from a gold drought at the beginning of the season, Tottenham have certainly found their footing in attack as a collective unit. They have been prolific in front of goal in recent weeks and have netted 25 times in the last seven Premier League appearances. Antonio Conte’s side has scored at least two goals in each of those matches.
Spurs have already found success against Brighton this year. They won 3-1 at home in the FA Cup fourth-round contest in the month of February. Spurs then secured a resounding 2-0 victory in the Premier League at the Amex Stadium last month. They have only lost two matches against Brighton in their history and will be unwilling to add more to that list. On the other hand, if they manage to win this game, it will be the first time since December 2018 that Spurs would have five Premier League wins on the bounce.
Brighton and Hove Albion are no strangers to disappointing results. However, in a turn of events that no one anticipated, they finally got back to winning ways last weekend after six successive losses on the trot, followed by a goalless draw at home to Norwich City.
Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu scored on either side of the half-time break at the Emirates Stadium to get Brighton’s noses ahead. Although Arsenal’s star midfielder Martin Odegaard scored in the 89th minute to pull things back and restore hope for the Gunners momentarily, it wasn’t enough. Graham Potter’s team held on to pick up three important points from the match.
Their poor run of form over the last couple of months had seen them slip to the bottom of the table. However, the previous weekend’s victory over Arsenal in London has seen them claw their way back up to the 11th place. They are level on points with Crystal Palace who are in the top 10 but have a worse goal difference.
While Graham Potter’s side will be full of confidence heading into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, historically they haven’t done too well on the road against Spurs. Brighton have won only one of their last nine away league matches against Tottenham. They have lost each of the last five matches in succession against them away from home.
However, if they do pull off an upset once again tomorrow, they will become only the second team in the history of the Premier League to win away at both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in consecutive league matches. Only Hull City hold the accomplishment, having done so in October 2008.
TOT vs BHA, Premier League 2021/22
Date: 16th April, 2022
Time: 5:00 PM IST
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
FORM GUIDE:
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:
- W-L-W-W-W-W
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
- W-L-W-W-W-W
Brighton Premier League form:
- L-L-L-L-D-W
Brighton form (all competitions):
- L-L-L-L-D-W
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Tottenham Hotspur wins: 8
Draws: 1
Brighton wins: 2
TOT vs BHA TEAM NEWS:
Tottenham Hotspur Team News: After suffering a serious injury early in the first half against Aston Villa, Matt Doherty has been ruled out and will take no part in the remainder of the season. That is far from the only injury concern in defense, as Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp are also on the treatment table with knee and groin injuries respectively.
One of Sergio Reguilon or Ryan Sessegnon could end up replacing Doherty in the starting XI. Besides this change, Antonio Conte might go ahead with an unchanged lineup from the previous clash. Harry Kane, Son Heung min, and Dejan Kulusevski have discovered plenty of chemistry in attack and they are expected to receive the nod which might relegate Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn to the substitutes’ bench once again.
Brighton and Hove Albion Team News: Brighton’s primary injury concern will be midfielder Jakub Moder, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury.
Adam Webster’s return from injury will be big news for The Seagulls. He came off the bench in the win against Arsenal, making his first appearance since February 15. He will be expected to return to the heart of the defense at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Webster’s inclusion is likely to see Brian Potter making a whole host of changes.
Midfielder Moises Caicedo might end up on the bench while Mark Cucurella could move up to the left wing-back role in which he is more comfortable. This could also see Leandro Trossard moving from the left flank to occupying a central role in the attack.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Brighton possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; Lamptey, Bissouma, Mwepu, Cucurella; Mac Allister, Trossard; Maupay
Predictions:
While both sides will be full of confidence heading into the fixture on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur are expected to come out on top as they are certainly flying at the moment. Spurs have been in immense form in front of goal over the last few games. They finally seem to have clicked under manager Antonio Conte.
Brighton cannot be considered as mere pushovers either, as they can take on the best of sides in the league. However, this might prove to be too formidable a challenge for them to overcome.
TOT vs BHA Fantasy XI No. 1
TOT vs BHA Fantasy XI No. 2
