Match Preview: Brighton v Tottenham Hotspur
Brighton and Hove Albion go looking for their second Premier League win of the season when Tottenham Hotspur visit in front of the Sky cameras.
Spurs are the top flights current “crisis club”. They’ve lost three games in a row and don’t actually have a stadium at the minute as, predictably, their plans to build a 61,000 seat arena in little over a year have proven to be wildly optimistic.
As a result, they are using a combination of Wembley and stadium:mk for home games. With no signings made over the summer and Mauricio Pochettino’s side looking jaded after many of their World Cup exertions, conditions could be ripe for a shock Albion win at the Amex.
Who are Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham were formed in 1882 with the soul aim of finishing above their rivals, Arsenal. It doesn’t matter if they don’t win trophies or don’t qualify for Europe – as long as they end up with more points than the Gunners their fans will celebrate the triumph wildly. That explains why so many of them have been happy over the last few seasons despite a barren trophy cabinet that shows just two League Cup triumphs in over 25 years. Spurs were the first side of the 20th century to complete the league and cup double in 1961 and in 1963 became the first British club to win a European competition when lifting the Cup Winners Cup.
What are they like now?
Since appointing Pochettino in the summer of 2014, Spurs have been on a steady upwards climb and were Leicester City’s closest challenges for much of the year when the Foxes shocked everyone by lifting the Premier League title. There is plenty to admire about this Tottenham side with the core of it being young, talented English players that Pochettino hasn’t been afraid to take a gamble on. That’s a refreshingly different approach to some of his top six rivals, as Marcus Rashford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek can attest to. With so many players who helped England on their run the World Cup semi finals involved, it’s no surprise that Spurs have looked a little jaded in the last few weeks. This is where they could really have done with some reinforcements in the last transfer window but Daniel Levy lived up to his reputation as man who’d want change from a 2pm coin, didn’t sanction any buys and so Spurs were the only top flight side not to make a signing in the summer.
Which players should we be worried about?
World Cup golden boot winner Harry Kane would be the obvious pick and he scored in Spurs’ 1-1 draw at the Amex back in April. His summer exertions in Russia look to have caught up with him however and Heung-Min Son might prove to be the bigger threat. The South Korean forward netted Spurs’ second in our 2-0 defeat at Wembley and was a real menace in the return game as well. Dele Alli could return from injury but France’s World Cup winning captain Hugo Lloris is still suffering from the hangover he picked on August 24th when he got absolutely hammered, drove off in his Porsche Panamera which was covered in sick and was pulled over by the police for doing 15mph in a 30mph zone and going through a red light.
What’s the Albion’s record like against Tottenham Hotspur?
Brighton and Tottenham have met on 30 previous occasions with the Albion triumphing in eight of those. Their most recent victory against Spurs came in April 1983 when goals from Steve Gatting and Gerry Ryan saw off Spurs, although the Albion were relegated shortly afterwards. There have been eight draws betwee the two with Tottenham winning the remaining 14 encounters.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Tottenham Hotspur at home?
Brighton’s opening first team game at the Amex was a friendly with Harry Redknapp’s Spurs in July 2011. Ashley Barnes scored the opener with just 11 minutes played but Younes Kaboul and Vedran Corluka gave the visitors a 2-1 half time lead. Kazenga LuaLua netted a fine equaliser in the days before his talents didn’t extend beyond destroying evidence. Jake Livermore scored what proved to be the winner after a quite brilliant howler from Sexy Pete Brezovan, on in place of Casper Ankergren who’d snuck off to chain smoke a 20 pack of Marlboro Lights.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Tottenham Hotspur at home?
We weren’t alive for Spurs’ visit to the Goldstone in 178, but 51 arrests, 85 causalities and 20 people ended up in hospital doesn’t sound like it was particularly enjoyanble, even if the Albion did win 3-1.
Whose played for both sides?
Former Albion boss Gus Poyet and assistant Mauricio Taricco both met when playing for Spurs in the early part of the 00’s. White Hart Lane was Bobby Zamora’s first destination when he left Withdean in the summer of 2003 for £1.5m although he didn’t last long with Tottenham, being exchanged for West Ham United striker Jermaine Defoe six months later.
Other than football, what’s Tottenham famous for?
Jeremy Corbyn would hate to live in the Tottenham area as the neighbouring district of Stamford Hill is known for its Jewish Chasidic community, the largest concentration of Charedi Chasidic Jews in Europe. The London Riots of 2011 started in Tottenham after the shooting of Mark Duggan and it was in the London Borough of Haringey that Baby P was shockingly beaten to death. Still, it isn’t all bad news – Tottenham also gave the world the Tottenham Cake, a sponge cake baked in large metal trays and covered either in pink icing or jam.
Where’s the betting value for Brighton v Tottenham
Spurs are in bad form but at some point, somebody is going to be on the end of a backlash from Pochettino and his side as they are too good to play this poorly for long. Hopefully, it won’t be use and the 3/1 on a repeat of last seasons draw looks like a good bet. The Amex has been a hotbed of entertainment in the league so far and you back there to be over 3.5 goals as there have been in both the Manchester United and Fulham games at 28/13.
Prediction
For the third game in a row, a 2-2 draw.
