Trip to Spurs another chance for Brighton to cause North London meltdown

North London was a very enjoyable place to be for Albion fans last week. Might it be so again as Brighton head to Spurs looking to have a further impact on the race for the Champions League places?

The sun shone, the beers flowed and the Seagulls did weird and wonderful things like taking shots from outside the area, scoring goals and winning a game of football as Arsenal were defeated 2-1.

Whisper it quietly so as not to upset Gunners fans, but Spurs look a tougher proposition than Arsenal. Antonio Conte has turned them from a side who looked like they might miss out on European football altogether into one now on course to finish in the top four.

The stronger the opposition though, the better Brighton seem to play. If that holds true at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then the Albion have a chance of sparking the same sort meltdown amongst fans of a North London club as they did seven days earlier at the Emirates.

Spurs this season
A summer managerial search which seemed more long winded, dramatic and included a greater number of contestants than the X Factor eventually saw Spurs replace the boring, negative football of Jose Mourinho with the boring, negative football of Nuno.

Everyone knew that it was a match about as well suited as Nasty Nick Cotton and a crack pipe. And with wonderful predictability, it was over before Christmas.

Spurs then went and got the man they should have appointed in the first place, Conte. Results since have been impressive, the passionate Italian turning Tottenham’s season around, mainly by helping Harry Kane rediscover his form.

With a genuine world class manager in the dugout, Spurs can look to a brighter future in which they become title contenders again.

That is until Daniel Levy refuses to back Conte in the summer and he decides to resign, which will provide further wonderful entertainment for the rest of English football.

Team news
Graham Potter confirmed that Steve Alzate is ill and Shane Duffy injured. Adam Webster is not yet ready to complete 90 minutes but will probably feature from the bench, as he did when coming on for the final 10 minutes at Arsenal.

Potter loves to tinker but after ending a dismal run of seven games without a win, he must surely stick with what worked against the Gunners.

Enock Mwepu and Moises Caicedo in particular deserve the opportunity to show that their fine performances a week ago were not flashes in pans.

Spurs will be without Matt Doherty, who has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury. Japhet Tanganga is also out with Oliver Skipp struggling with a groin problem.

Other than those three, Conte has a fully fit and firing Spurs squad to choose from with all of his big guns available. Which is a bit of a bugger.

Key battles
Kane loves a goal against Brighton and stopping him will be paramount to any chance of Brighton success against Spurs.

The good news in that regard is that Lewis Dunk gave his best performance since returning from injury in mid-February at Arsenal.

An even better showing will be needed against the England captain as Kane versus Dunk has the potential to decide which way this game swings.

Recent form
Not only have Spurs won five of their past six matches, but they have been scoring goals at an alarming rate too. 22 times they have found the back of the net, which the Rachel Riley’s amongst you will have reduced is an average of more than three per game.

Tottenham’s sole defeat in that run came away at Manchester United – and that was largely because Cristiano Ronaldo was absolutely on one, banging in a hat-trick.

Without the brilliance of CR7, Spurs would probably have six wins from six and this trip to North London would appear even more daunting for the Albion.

• 09/04/22: Aston Villa 0-4 Spurs
• 03/04/22: Spurs 5-1 Newcastle United
• 20/03/22: Spurs 3-1 West Ham
• 16/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Spurs
• 12/03/22: Manchester United 3-2 Spurs
• 07/03/22: Spurs 5-0 Everton

The win over Arsenal ended Brighton’s poor form of recent weeks and all-but secured Premier League football for next season.

With the pressure off somewhat, the Albion can go out and play with freedom at Spurs in a game they will not be expected to get anything from. That can only be a good thing.

• 09/04/22: Arsenal 1-2 Brighton
• 02/04/22: Brighton 0-0 Norwich
• 16/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Spurs
• 12/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Liverpool
• 05/03/22: Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
• 26/02/22: Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa

Last time Brighton played Spurs
It was less than a month ago that Spurs visited the Amex, having seen the original December date postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak at Tottenham.

As every Brighton home game tends to be at the moment, it was a shit evening from an Albion point of view. Spurs ran out 2-0 winners with the Seagulls failing to have a single shot on target – stark contrast to the joy that Tony Bloom had experienced hours earlier when Energumene won the Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

Brighton v Spurs head-to-head
Brighton and Spurs have played each other a surprising number of times, thanks largely to wartime football and Tottenham spending several years in the Southern League with the Albion in the 1900s.

There have been 38 meetings between the clubs. Brighton have 10 victories, Spurs 20 and eight of the matches have finished level.

Trips to Tottenham have not exactly gone well for the Albion in the past. The Seagulls have won just one league game away from home against Spurs, Michael Robinson scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane in the 1981-82 season.

A reason why Spurs will win
How long have you got? Spurs are in their best form of the season. They are scoring goals for fun. Kane is a world class striker. Conte is a world class manager. Brighton have a terrible record away from home against Tottenham. The list goes on and on and on…

A reason why Brighton will win
See all the reasons above as to why Spurs will win, add in the fact that Brighton could not even beat Norwich at home two weeks ago, and you have all the ingredients needed for the Albion to do something #TypicalBrighton and pull off a shock.

Spurs v Brighton betting
Spurs seem likely to win and that makes finding a bet for this one a little challenging as the odds reflect that. There is little value in lumping on a home victory at 8/15.

For a slightly more outlandish bet, how about Dunk to score anytime? Spurs have one of the worst records in the Premier League when it comes to conceding chances from set pieces and with Pascal Gross likely to start, the Gross x Dunk combination could bear fruit.

Predictions
Prediction of score: Spurs 2-0 Brighton
Prediction of difficulty in getting away from stadium: High