Brighton vs Tottenham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Brighton host Tottenham in the English Premier League on Thursday. Both sides have several injury absentees, and these sides tend to play out high-scoring matches. Spurs have won 12 of the last 16 meetings between the clubs.

Brighton Form

Brighton’s last 12 matches have seen just two losses with six wins and four draws. They won all four Europa League matches in that streak including 2-0 both home and away against Ajax, 1-0 at AEK Athens, and 1-0 at home to Marseille to seal top spot in their group. In the league, it’s just two wins in 12 fixtures.

After a six-match winless run (four draws and two losses), they won 3-2 at Nottingham Forest in late November. A 3-2 defeat at Chelsea followed despite facing ten in the second half. A 2-1 home win over Brentford preceded a disappointing 1-1 home draw vs Burnley. With just one shot on target, they lost 2-0 at Arsenal and then drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace last time out.

Brighton Team News

Roberto De Zerbi has seven injuries and one major doubt for this match. Kaoru Mitoma is a question mark on the flank whilst Solly March, Ansu Fati, and Julio Enciso are ruled out. Danny Welbeck scored on his return from injury against Crystal Palace and may start this one.

Pervis Estupinan, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, and Tariq Lamptey are all absent at the back. The fullback positions are short of numbers so Igor could play at left back and we may see Jack Hinshelwood deputise once against at right back.

Brighton Motivation

Nothing will change in Brighton’s style despite their defensive injury woes. De Zerbi’s side will simply look to outscore Tottenham.

A draw would not be a bad result on paper, but the Seagulls won’t play for a point at any stage.

Tottenham Form

After their superb start to the season, Spurs came crashing back down to earth. In five successive league matches, they took the lead but could only finish with a single point in those fixtures. That streak included home losses to all of Chelsea, Aston Villa and West Ham, the latter two both finishing 2-1.

A 4-1 win over a tired Newcastle restored some confidence. They went to Nottingham Forest and won 2-0 in a solid outing. Their last match brought two early goals in a 2-1 win over Everton. However, they had to hold on for dear life as their opponents were on top for much of the second half.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs have Destiny Udogie back from suspension to start at left-back. Richarlison and Cristian Romero should both shake off knocks to take their places in the XI. Micky Van de Ven is injured so Ben Davies will cover as centre-back.

Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison are injured in midfield and Yves Bissouma is still out suspended. Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon are ruled out. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Gio Lo Celso are pushing for starts in place of Oliver Skipp in the engine room.

Tottenham Motivation

Tottenham will be very eager to make it four wins in a row. They won’t see a point as a good result.

Ange Postecoglou’s side will attack and throw bodies forward. However, he has made some conservative changes in recent matches to protect leads.

Key Stats

Brighton’s 12 home matches this season have seen just 2 clean sheets

Brighton have seen Both Teams Scoring in their 9 home EPL matches this season

Brighton have lost just twice in 13 matches (all competitions)

Tottenham have won 12 of their last 16 matches vs Brighton (just 1 draw)

Tottenham have won 3 league matches in a row

Spurs have conceded 15 goals in their last 8 matches

Verdict

This fixture could be a goal-fest. Backing Over 3.5 goals look wise, and we could even see Over 4.5 goals perhaps. The result in 90 minutes could go any of three ways but Spurs may have enough to avoid defeat.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 2.10
Value Bet: Over 4.5 goals at 3.40
High-Value Bet: Both Teams to Score in Both Halves at 7.25
Multiplier Leg: Tottenham win/draw double chance + Over 1.5 goals at 1.80

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis