Brighton v Spurs Preview: Can Albion inflict third Amex loss on Mourinho?
The Albion could do something truly special against Jose Mourinho at the Amex as our match preview for Brighton versus Spurs is about to explain.
Mourinho you see has never lost three consecutive away games against the same club in his managerial career. Not in Portugal, not in England, not in Italy, not in Spain. Never.
That could all change if Brighton are able to find a way to inflict defeat on Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho’s past two visits to the Amex saw him beaten 3-2 in August 2018 and 1-0 three months earlier, both at the helm of the mighty Manchester United.
Becoming the first team to beat The Special One three times in a row on their own patch would also mean the Albion end a record of their own – the worst home winless run in Seagulls history with Graham Potter now having overseen 14 matches without a home victory.
This is not a time for soundbites, but Brighton can feel the hand of history upon their shoulder.
Tottenham Hotspur this season
It feels like every team in the top half of the table has led the way at some point, such has been the crazy nature of the 2020-21 Premier League season so far. Even Southampton have had a go, FFS.
Spurs’ turn came in November after an impressive opening three months. They lost only one of their first 11 matches, a run which included victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and that stunning 6-1 success at Manchester United.
The way some pundits and Tottenham fans were carrying on at that point, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the season was over and that the title might as well be awarded to Spurs there and then.
It is just as well the league did not decide to declare Harry Kane and co champions with only a third of the season played. Since the start of December, the wheels have started to come off and Spurs have only won two of their past eight top flight matches to slip to sixth in the table.
What has made their recent form all the more bizarre is that it is incredibly un-Mourinho like. Spurs are now a side who play in the defensive, counter attacking image of their manager but they are also doing things which no Mourinho team ever does, like conceding stupid goals and throwing away leads.
No side has lost more points from winning positions in the Premier League this season than Tottenham. If Mourinho can find a way to stop that happening so frequently, then Spurs would be in with a real shot of actually winning the championship in May rather than November.
Recent form
We have just touched upon what has happened to Spurs over the last eight games in our match preview, which is in contrast really with how Brighton have been playing since Boxing Day.
Tottenham’s disappointing run includes two defeats to Liverpool and a 2-0 loss against Leicester City. No disgrace in those. More troubling for Spurs have been draws with out-of-form Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and struggling Crystal Palace and Fulham.
The Albion meanwhile are playing some of their best football since those halcyon opening weeks of the season. There was the comeback from 3-1 down at half time to draw with Wolves, a promising showing in defeat against Manchester City, victory at The Leeds United and although the 0-0 draw with Fulham was a disappointing result, the performance was a good one against the Cottagers.
If Brighton can find a way to put the ball in the back of the net – easier said than done as we well know – then the Albion have a decent chance of inflicting another upset on Mourinho and Spurs, neither of whom enjoyed their last visit to the Amex.
Brighton v Tottenham Hotspur head-to-head
Brighton and Spurs have played each other on 35 previous occasions since the first meeting in the 1903-04 Southern League Division One season.
Unsurprisingly given that Tottenham have spent most of their history being good and the Albion not so good, it is Spurs who lead the head-to-head with 18 wins to the Seagulls’ nine. There have been eight draws.
Brighton can take encouragement from their home record against Tottenham. Of those nine wins, eight have come in Sussex with some seriously embarrassing consequences for the visitors.
There was of course the 3-0 Brighton win in October 2019 which proved to be a significant factor in the sacking of the popular Mauricio Pochettino.
Over 40 years earlier in the 1977-78 season and the Albion inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Spurs, picking up a crucial two points in the battle for promotion to the top flight.
Spurs fans did not like that and so spent most of the 90 minutes rioting in an attempt to get the game abandoned and therefore replayed. It did not work, even after the players had to leave the Goldstone pitch for 14 minutes at one point whilst the police cleared it of invading Tottenham fans.
Unfortunately, Spurs had the last laugh as they pipped Brighton to promotion on the final day of the campaign. A contrived 0-0 draw with Southampton meant both Tottenham and the Saints went up ahead of the Albion, when defeat for one of them at the Dell would have opened the door for Brighton to leapfrog the loser into the top three. Bastards.
Brighton’s head-to-head record with Tottenham Hotspur
Last six meetings
• Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton (Premier League, 01/11/20)
• Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton (Premier League, 26/12/19)
• Brighton 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, 05/10/19)
• Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Brighton (Premier League, 23/04/19)
• Brighton 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, 22/09/18)
• Brighton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, 17/04/18)
Here is some further match preview good news – not only does Mourinho not have a great record at Brighton, but neither do Spurs. Aaron Connolly went berserk on Tottenham’s last visit and their first visit in the 2017-18 season saw a Pascal Gross penalty secure a 1-1 draw.
That was a big point towards safety for Chris Hughton’s side, especially as it came just three days after a sickening 3-2 defeat away at Palace.
Spurs’ one win out of three at the Amex should not have ended that way, either. Hughton got his tactics all wrong, belatedly realising at half time that the visitors were there for the taking with rookie goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga making his debut.
Unfortunately, the Albion were already 2-0 down by that point. Despite Anthony Knockaert pulling one back late on in a much improved second half showing, Tottenham held on for a 2-1 win.
Oh what might have been had Hughton been more positive from the start and Knockaert not missed the sort of easy one-on-one that would make even Neal Maupay blush.
Team news
The big news that will dominate any match preview for Brighton v Spurs is that Kane is injured. The England captain finally got his comeuppance from his new party trick of looking for fouls by ducking into opponents who attempt to go for headers when he stumbled when trying it against Jordan Henderson and injured his ankle.
Having seen Kane cheat his way to a penalty and nearly break Adam Lallana’s neck in the process at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, there was a sense of justice that this move which genuinely endangers the careers of other players backfired so spectacularly.
Any team in the world would miss a player of Kane’s quality but Spurs are particularly reliant on his scoring ability. Facing a Tottenham side minus their best player is obviously great news for the Albion.
As for Brighton, Adam Lallana and Connolly were both back on the bench for the draw against Fulham. With a few more days training under their belts, they may now be fit enough to play some part, although it must be doubtful that they will start.
Potter named a surprisingly sensible starting XI for Fulham, as if someone had stolen his Roulette Selection Wheel. It will be interesting to see what he does against Spurs as some of his most maddening decisions came in the reverse fixture, when Leandro Trossard started as a lone striker and Gross had a stint at right back.
Tottenham Hotspur’s danger men
Without Kane, much of the scoring burden will fall on Son Heung-min who is one of the best second-strikers in the Premier League. Gareth Bale announced his return to Spurs with the winner last time we met but it has largely been a frustrating season for the Welshman due to injuries. Still, that has at least meant he has had plenty of time to practice his swing on the golf course.
The betting value for Brighton v Tottenham Hotspur
Maupay may have had a bit of a shocker in front of goal on Wednesday night, but his all-round performance was fine and he has been in good form lately with three goals in his past six Premier League outings.
As we like to use our match preview to frequently remind people, Maupay’s goals tend to come in streaks – which makes an anytime goal scorer price of 43/20 for the Frenchman in Brighton v Spurs look like good value.
An interesting subplot
Mourinho hating Sussex. Can you imagine if little old Brighton do what Manchester City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan or Juventus have never managed?
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Tottenham Hotspur at home
The last time Spurs came to the Amex was arguably Brighton’s best ever performance as a Premier League side. The lunchtime kick off also meant that you could cram a Sussex non-league game in afterwards, with the WAB team hopping over to the Adur Derby between Shoreham and Southwick at Middle Road.
Unfortunately, your correspondent cannot tell you the score from the Musselmen against the Wickers. Too much beer at the Amex was followed by six pints of San Miguel in the Shoreham clubhouse during and after the Southern Combination League action, making the old memory a bit hazy.
Two games of live football in the space of five hours and 11 pints before 6pm in the evening. Those were the days…
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Tottenham Hotspur at home
The 2-1 defeat in September 2018 was a missed opportunity for Brighton. By and large though, home games with Spurs have actually been a pretty good experience since Brighton joined the elite.
Tottenham Hotspur’s most famous fan
The star of The Apprentice is well-known for his support of Tottenham and that must surely make him their most famous fan – we are of course talking about Claude Littner.
Prediction
Bit of a shocker to finish this Brighton v Spurs match preview – we are predicting a decent result against one of the big six. Brighton to win 2-1 as Potter’s new pragmatic approach punishes Tottenham and Mourinho in a history-making evening. We can but dream, right?
