View: Tottenham cannot underestimate Brighton, stats show they’re on par with Man City
Tottenham welcome Brighton to North London Saturday (8 April) as they look to get the post-Antonio Conte era underway.
Conte was sacked by Spurs after an extraordinary outburst to the media following the 3-3 draw away at Southampton on 18 March.
Spurs failed to follow up Conte’s dismissal with a positive result when they drew 1-1 with relegation-threatened Everton at Goodison Park on Monday (3 April).
Next up for the Londoners is what is bound to be a tough clash against in-form Brighton, who find themselves in sixth, just four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
Spurs’ record against the South Coast club is relatively good.
They’ve lost just three of their 14 meetings with Brighton in this millennium but they did lose in this fixture last season when now-Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard scored a late winner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April 2022.
Earlier this season, Tottenham won 1-0 at Brighton thanks to Harry Kane’s 22nd-minute goal at the AMEX.
Yet another 1-0 win will probably be enough to appease the angry locals at least a bit because while a strong performance matters, picking up three points and solidifying a top-four spot is more important at the stage.
Also, Brighton aren’t to be underestimated.
Roberto De Zerbi’s men are in frightening form, winning three and drawing two of their last five Premier League matches. They’ve already beaten Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool (twice) and Arsenal this season across all competitions and will be vying to add Spurs to their impressive list of scalps.
According to WhoScored, only top-two clubs Manchester City (64.7%) and Arsenal (60.7%) enjoy more possession per match than Brighton (60%) this season. Tottenham rank ninth with 50.6 per cent.
Only Pep Guardiola’s City (88.9%) average a higher pass completion percentage per game than De Zerbi’s side (85.6%).
And no one averages more shots on target per game than the Seagulls (6.1).
Spurs have a test on their hands. Brighton are as good as, if not better, than the North London outfit this season and the stats back up the fact they’re almost on a par with Man City for the way they play.
Winning against them would be huge for Tottenham.
In other Tottenham news, Lucas Moura had his season-worst display against Everton on Monday.