Tottenham Hotspur will strive for an immediate return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton on Wednesday evening.
A 3-2 away loss to Manchester United on Sunday, thanks to a fantastic Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, brought to an end Spurs’ two-game winning run, whilst further denting their hopes of qualifying for the top four. The result at Old Trafford left the Lilywhites seventh on the table.
Antonio Conte will definitely expect a strong response from his boys against Brighton, who are on a dismal five-game losing run at the moment.
Tottenham Team News
Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp have been struggling with knee and groin problems respectively in recent weeks and remain out for Tottenham. Ryan Sessegnon missed Spurs’ 3-2 defeat to Man United over the weekend with a muscular problem, and manager Antonio Conte does not expect the wing-back to return before the international break.
Predicted Tottenham Lineup vs Brighton (3-4-2-1)
Goalkeeper
After conceding three goals to Manchester United over the weekend, Hugo Lloris will be raring to keep a clean sheet against a blunt Brighton attack in midweek.
Defence
Antonio Conte is expected to retain a back three of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Ben Davies as they focus on keeping things tight at the defensive end of the field throughout the game.
Davinson Sanchez will provide cover for the central defensive position on the Tottenham bench.
Midfield
Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal have been rotated extensively down the right-hand side and the Italian tactician might go with the former in the Tottenham lineup due to his ability to strike a balance between defence and attack. On the other side, Sergio Reguilon will continue deputising in the injury-absence of Ryan Sessegnon.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur will operate in central midfield in the Tottenham lineup and look to stop the Brighton midfielders from dominating possession at the Amex Stadium. While Hojbjerg will be tasked with shielding the backline and breaking the opposition’s play, Bentancur’s passing ability and driving runs with the ball will be helpful in building attacks from deep.
Attack
Dejan Kulusevski has made a positive impact since arriving on loan from Juventus in January. The Swede’s movement, dribbling skills and vision has added a different spice to their forward line, making Spurs deadly during counter-attacks. He will look to combine with Son Heung-min and Harry Kane in and around the box and cause all kinds of problems to the Brighton backline.
Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura will again have to settle for a place on the bench and hope to make an impact in the second half if called upon.