Big Match Breakdown: Brighton & Hove Albion v Tottenham
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Will Spurs continue away-day hot streak?
Tottenham Hotspur continue their bid to chase down Manchester United and Liverpool, and head to the AMEX Stadium on the back of five away wins.
Hosts Brighton & Hove Albion have taken a single point from their last four Premier League games. They sit just two points above 17th-placed Swansea City, but a victory would lift them to 11th in a tightly-packed table.
There’s plenty to play for, and the Coral News Team are back with all the info in another Big Match Breakdown…
Head-to-Head
These sides have met three times since the millennium, with Tottenham winning each of those clashes.
The last two have both ended 2-0 to the North London club. Serge Aurier and Son Heung-Min did the damage in December’s meeting, with goals either side of the break.
Brighton won their last home meeting with Spurs, though that came way back in 1983 – the year the Seagulls reached their only FA Cup Final to date.
Likely XIs
Brighton have had most success this term playing a 4-4-2 with two men out wide. With Davy Propper suspended, Beram Kayal and Dale Stevens are likely to start as a holding midfield duo, with Jose Izquierdo and Anthony Knockaert on the flanks.
Up front, Pascal Gross is likely to partner the in-form Glenn Murray.
Spurs’ line-up depends largely on how many players Mauricio Pochettino chooses to rest ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United.
Harry Kane is likely to make the starting XI, but Erik Lamela – subbed off at Manchester City – could be rested. That would likely leave an attacking trio of Son, Dele Alli and Lucas Moura behind the prolific Kane.
Key Battles
Spurs’ counter-attacking prowess has made them such good travellers this term. They pack a ton of pace and trickery on the flanks, so Albion’s full-backs will have to be disciplined and quick off the mark.
For the visitors, the powerful Murray will give a tough aerial and physical battle for Spurs’ centre-back pairing. Alderweireld and Vertonghen are both classy performers, but each will need to show a combative streak tonight.
Match Odds
In the match betting, Tottenham are 8/15 favourites. There’s 13/4 about the draw, while Chris Hughton’s hosts are 11/2 to bag a home win.
While Spurs have won five on the trot away from home, they’ve only kept a clean sheet in one of the last four. The odds make it 11/5 for Tottenham to Win and Both Teams to Score.
Meanwhile, it’s an 8/11 shot for Over 2.5 Goals for the seventh Spurs match in succession.
Son grabbed a vital goal in the last meeting, and he’s picked up seven goals in his last 10 games – including three doubles. The South Korean is 6/4 to Score Anytime, and 7/1 to net Two or More Goals.
For the hosts, Murray has registered seven times in his last 11 outings. The experienced hitman is 23/10 to find the net against Pochettino’s side.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
