Premier League: Spurs aiming to down Seagulls

Tottenham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games, but they face a big test in the early hours of Sunday morning when they play host to Brighton.

Albion may not have won on the road in the league since a 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest in late November, but under head coach Roberto De Zerbi they play a brand of attacking football which should ensure an exciting clash in the English capital.

Spurs themselves like to play on the front foot under Ange Postecoglou and the meeting of the two sides at the Amex Stadium just after Christmas ended in a 4-2 win for the Seagulls.

What	Tottenham v Brighton
Where	Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
When	02:00 (AEDT), Sunday 11th February 2024
How to watch	Optus Sport
Odds	Tottenham 1.83, Draw 4.20, Brighton 3.80

Son absence leads to dip in form

Ange Postecoglou's side currently lie fifth in the table, two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, having won just one of the three league games they have played while captain Son Heung-min has been away on Asian Cup duty with South Korea.

However, they are also unbeaten in those three outings, having drawn 2-2 with both Manchester United and Everton and won 3-2 at home to Brentford and they have won their last four home top-flight matches.

Son may yet be available to face Brighton, but in his absence Brazilian Richarlison has continued his outstanding run of form in front of goal.

The South American frontman has scored nine goals in his last eight Premier League appearances, with his overall tally of 10 just two behind Son.

Postecoglou will have to weigh up whether he feels that Son is ready for action against the Seagulls, while the former Australia boss will also have been happy to have seen playmaker James Maddison return to action in the last couple of weeks after an ankle injury.

The former Leicester City midfielder is the man who made Spurs tick in the early part of the season and his return should ensure that both Richarlison and Son have plenty of chances to feed upon.

The Brazilian is 2.20 to score at anytime against Brighton, while he is available at 5.50 to net the first goal of the game.

Postecoglou had to deal with something of an injury crisis earlier on during the campaign, especially in defence, but most of those issues have cleared up and he will be eager to see his side tighten up at the back.

Spurs have conceded twice in each of their last three league games and have kept only one clean sheet in their last 14 top-flight outings, so both teams to score at the Amex at 1.40 makes a good deal of sense.

Seagulls have their own in-form frontman

Brighton lie three places and nine points behind Spurs heading into their showdown and suffered a 4-0 thrashing at Luton Town in their last away game.

They responded well by thumping Crystal Palace 4-1 and have now lost just once in their last six top-flight outings, while during that run they also knocked in nine goals in seeing off Stoke City and Sheffield United in the FA Cup.

Like Spurs they have a Brazilian striker in tip-top form, with Joao Pedro having scored 19 times since his summer switch from Watford.

Eight of those strikes have come in the Premier League, while Joao Pedro has netted eight times in his last seven appearances in all competitions, including an FA Cup hat-trick against Sheff Utd.

The South American is 8.00 to score the first goal of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while he is 3.00 to find the net at anytime.

Meanwhile, Albion boss De Zerbi will have to continue to plan without versatile forward Kaoru Mitoma, who has returned from Asian Cup duty with Japan, but who is being troubled by an ankle problem.