Tottenham XI v Brighton: Ange Postecoglou to drop axe in three changes
Tottenham will look to return to winning ways when they host Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday 10 February.
Spurs were frustrated last time out as they drew 2-2 with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday 3 February after Jarrad Branthwaite scored a 94th-minute equaliser for the hosts.
It was a result which saw the North London side slip out of the Premier League’s top four as Aston Villa won 5-0 at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United later that same afternoon.
Ange Postecoglou’s men will now hope to get back on track against Brighton and will be looking to get revenge over the Seagulls.
When the two sides met in the reverse fixture on Thursday 28 December, Roberto De Zerbi’s side ran out 4-2 winners at the Amex Stadium having initially raced into a 4-0 lead.
Postecoglou will need to ensure he gets his team selection spot on if he wants to avoid a similar result, and the Australian could be boosted by the return of a few familiar faces.
Tottenham to make three changes for clash with Brighton
Guglielmo Vicario is unlikely to be dropped despite some high-profile mistakes in recent weeks. The Italian’s failure to deal with crosses into the box against Manchester City and Everton led to Spurs conceding from corners in both clashes and the shot-stopper will hope to show more conviction at set-pieces against Brighton.
Pedro Porro will be expected to continue at right-back despite not having his finest hour on Merseyside. As per Sofascore, the Spaniard completed just 73 per cent of his passes, failed to provide an accurate long ball forward from four attempts and played just one accurate cross into the box.
Destiny Udogie also had a tricky afternoon against the Toffees, completing just 68 per cent of his passes and only registering one successful dribble from four attempts. However, the left-back also made seven tackles and created one big chance, and he will expect to keep his place in the side.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero will likely line up alongside each other, with the former in particular impressing against Sean Dyche’s side, making one last-man tackle, winning three of his four ground duels and completing 90 per cent of his passes.
While it will likely be an unchanged back-five, Postecoglou could make some tweaks in midfield. Pape Matar Sarr returned from the bench against Everton after Senegal were eliminated from the African Cup of Nations and the 21-year-old will expect to start from the beginning this time in place of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Hojbjerg completed just 77 per cent of his passes, was dribbled past twice and won just 50 per cent of his ground duels against Everton, and Sarr’s return to the fold would be a big boost for Spurs. James Maddison will look to continue building up his fitness following a return from injury after grabbing an assist at Goodison Park.
Rodrigo Bentancur will likely round off the midfield despite a difficult performance against Everton where the 26-year-old won just two of his seven ground duels and was dribbled past once. The Uruguay international will need to show signs of improvement with Yves Bissouma available for selection once again for the first time in almost two months.
Brennan Johnson could make way for Dejan Kulusevski on the right after completing just 40 per cent of his passes against Everton while Son Heung-min could return on the left for Tottenham.
Having been eliminated from the Asian Cup this week following South Korea’s 2-0 defeat to Jordan in the semi-final on Tuesday 6 February, Postecoglou could opt to throw his captain back in at the deep end in place of Timo Werner.
Richarlison will expect to continue up top after making it nine goals in eight Premier League matches with two strikes against his former employers last time out.
In other Tottenham news, one 98 per cent Spurs ace has proven he was a bargain after he set an all-time Premier League record.
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