Tottenham Hotspur, who were eliminated from the FA Cup last week, will face London rivals Brentford in a Premier League match on Wednesday.
While Brentford enjoyed their mid-season break, Tottenham suffered a home defeat against Manchester City in their last game and are now aiming for their first league victory of 2024.
Match Preview
Tottenham Hotspur had a winning streak against Brentford at their home ground, but in the FA Cup tie last week, they were unable to maintain their record and ended up losing to Manchester City.
The late goal by Nathan Ake, which was contested by many, resulted in a victory for the defending champions. This loss means that Ange Postecoglou’s team can now solely focus on the Premier League for the remainder of the season, as their hopes of winning silverware in the past 16 years have been dashed.
Tottenham’s primary objective now is to stay in contention for a top-four finish and fend off challengers such as Manchester United, who held them to a 2-2 draw earlier this month.
In that match, Tottenham fell behind twice but managed to equalize each time thanks to goals from Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur. Their most recent league victory dates back to New Year’s Eve.
Despite being shut out by Manchester City in their previous match, Tottenham has managed to score in each of their last 33 Premier League games, which is their longest scoring streak in the league’s history. It is also the fourth-best scoring run by any team in the Premier League era.
In their last nine league encounters against Brentford, Tottenham has lost only once, although that defeat did occur in the corresponding fixture last season.
Brentford, after losing their first Premier League meeting with Tottenham in late 2021, have remained unbeaten in their last four encounters, including a 3-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May.
Similar to their opponents, Brentford was recently knocked out of the FA Cup. After drawing 1-1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their initial match, they lost the replay and their cup run came to an end.
Their star player, Ivan Toney, returned from a lengthy suspension to captain the team in their last league game against Nottingham Forest.
The victory ended a five-match losing streak for Brentford, with Toney scoring the opening goal and Ben Mee and Neal Maupay adding more goals in the second half.
However, Brentford has lost all of their last four away games in the Premier League and their previous two London derbies, suffering defeats to Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
With Brentford still hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone, manager Thomas Frank will be eager to break both losing streaks by defeating Tottenham on Wednesday.
Team News
Tottenham will be without three key players – Son Heung-min, who is on Asian Cup duty with South Korea, and midfielders Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma, who are participating in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Alejo Veliz, Manor Solomon, and Giovani Lo Celso are also sidelined due to injuries. However, James Maddison made a substitute appearance last week after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in November. Ben Davies has also returned to the squad.
Richarlison, who has been in form lately with six goals in his last six Premier League matches, is expected to lead the Tottenham attack. Eight of his ten goal involvements this season have come in his last seven home matches.
Brentford will rely on Ivan Toney, who scored on his return to action against Nottingham Forest.
Sergio Reguilon, who recently joined Brentford on loan, will not be eligible to play against his parent club. Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Schade, and Christian Norgaard are among the other players unavailable due to injuries or international duty.
Despite reportedly securing the signing of Antonio Nusa from Club Brugge, Brentford will have to wait until next season to have him in their squad as he will remain on loan at his former club for the rest of this season.
Possible Starting Lineups
Tottenham Hotspur: (4-2-3-1)
Vicario;
Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie;
Hojbjerg, Bentancur;
Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner;
Richarlison
Brentford: (3-5-2)
Flekken;
Collins, Pinnock, Mee;
Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter;
Toney, Maupay
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Brentford
Although the personnel may be similar, Tottenham is expected to bounce back from their defeat against Manchester City and secure a victory against Brentford.
Brentford has struggled away from home, and Tottenham should capitalize on that to claim all three points.