Tottenham must be wary Danny Welbeck threat v Brighton, he can step up in absence of Seagulls ace
A pair of injury-ravaged teams will go head to head on Thursday 28 December when Brighton host Tottenham at the Amex Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have a golden opportunity to make it four Premier League wins in a row and move within three points of top-of-the-table Liverpool when they travel to the south coast.
However, despite the enormity of what is at stake from a footballing perspective, the build-up to the match has been dominated by injury news, with both managers seemingly competing to name more injured stars than the other.
Postecoglou delivered the devastating news in his pre-match press conference that defender Cristian Romero is set to miss between four and five weeks of action with a hamstring issue.
In quotes shared by Fabrizio Romano via his official X platform (27 December), Postecoglou told the media, “Romero had a scan and he’s got a hamstring strain. We’re looking at four to five weeks with him.”
Roberto De Zerbi responded with injury news of his own, revealing to the media in his pre-match presser (Brighton Official Website, 27 December) that both Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra will be out for at least four weeks having sustained injuries during Brighton’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Thursday 21 December.
It leaves Spurs light at the back with Brighton depleted going forward, which should only add to the intrigue of what already promises to be a fascinating clash.
De Zerbi will need to do plenty of shuffling with his two first-choice wingers out and could look toward striker Danny Welbeck, who made a goalscoring return to action against the Eagles last time out.
Welbeck came on to replace Adingra in east London, marking his first appearance since 21 October after a hamstring injury had kept him out of action.
In terms of his overall game, there was fairly little to write home about. As per Sofascore, he completed just 79 per cent of his passes, with two of those being key, failed with both of his dribble attempts and won just three of his eight ground duels, although he did manage to create one big chance.
However, although it is fair to say that the 33-year-old was slightly rusty, he showed plenty of quality when it mattered, with his incredible equalising goal in the 83rd minute, which was enough to suggest that he still has what it takes to hurt teams at the highest level.
As the ball was crossed in by Pascal Gross toward Welbeck, the former Manchester United forward had it all to do.
Nonetheless, he was somehow able to find the back of the net, looping an expert header into the top corner past Dean Henderson, despite the goalkeeper being at full stretch.
Postecoglou will be confident that Ben Davies can deal with Welbeck in the air, with the Welshman having won 11 of the 15 aerial duels he has contested across the past three matches, although the striker’s overall stats in the Premier League this season certainly demonstrate that he is still a problem in other areas of the pitch.
As per fbref, the former England international ranks in the 99th percentile of his positional peers in England’s top flight this season for his number of shot-creating actions (4.09 per 90), his pass completion rate (84.9 per cent per 90) and the number of tackles he has made (2.13 per 90).
Although his goal at Palace was just his second of the season, he has only played 579 minutes of football across both domestic and European competition, and this will likely leave him hungry to prove he has still got what it takes, especially against Tottenham, considering his previous connection with the club’s north London rivals, Arsenal.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs expert believes the “brilliance” of one player has been key for the club this season.