Tottenham started the 23/24 season in fine fashion but as the campaign’s rolled along, Spurs have taken their foot off the peddle and after 21 Premier League matches, the North London side find themselves fourth on the table with 40 points against their names.
Tottenham faced the two Manchester sides in their previous two matches and they have failed to win both these games. Their loss to City was in the FA Cup which means the only hope they have of winning a silverware this season is by finishing top of the league.
Spurs will be eager to get back to winning ways this week when they face Brentford at home. The Bees beat Forest in their last league outing but they will be without a series of players on Wednesday night and with the kind of talent that Ange has at his disposal, Tottenham should be eyeing all three points. West Ham United and Brighton are breathing down their necks so if Spurs fail to win this one then not only will these two teams catch up, Aston Villa will move six points clear in the fourth spot.
Spurs’ injuries, absentees and team news:
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will still be without Son, Bissouma and Pape Sarr all of whom are off to international duty.
Sarr and Bissouma’s absence means the Spurs boss won’t have too many options in the middle of the pitch. Bentancur and Hojbjerg paired up in central midfield in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City and the two will take the field in midweek as well.
Son’s absence has given Richarlison a consistent run of games up front and the Brazilian will be hoping to score his eighth league goal of the campaign.
The biggest boost for the Tottenham manager has been the return of James Maddison who played 20-odd minutes off the bench in the FA Cup exit.
Maddison is being slowly brought back into the fold and the attacking midfielder should finally get his first start this week since he played 45 minutes against Chelsea in the first week of November.
The FA Cup exit was a big setback for Tottenham and they will be eager to bounce back immediately from that defeat. Spurs have the firepower and skillsets to pick up a comfortable win but using the same set of players is a massive risk.
Tottenham predicted line up vs Brentford:
Predicted starting line up(4-2-3-1): Vicario; Udogie, Van de Ven, Romero, Porro; Bentancur, Hojbjerg; Werner, Maddison, Kulusevski; Richarlison.
