Tottenham Hotspur will host Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday in a Premier League clash. Tottenham has won six of their last eight league matches at home, while Brentford has suffered defeat in three of their last four games on the road.
Tottenham’s hopes of playing in Europe have hit a rough patch as they lost their last match against Aston Villa 2-1, extending their winless league run to seven matches on the road. Interim boss Ryan Mason remarked that Tottenham lacked “togetherness”. After finishing in the top four last season, Tottenham are in seventh place and could miss out on playing in European football altogether.
Defensive problems have been a significant challenge for Tottenham as they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 league games. However, Spurs can draw some confidence from the fact that they have won each of their last three home games by a scoreline of 2-0 against Brentford.
Brentford, on the other hand, secured a top-10 finish in the Premier League when they beat West Ham United 2-0 in their previous game. The Bees have an outside chance of getting a spot in Europe if they can win against Tottenham and move within a point of seventh place with their final game against the champions-elect Manchester City.
Brentford’s away form, however, has been patchy as they have come out victorious in only two of their last 10 league games on the road. Despite this, Brentford is unbeaten in their last eight Premier League London derbies and will seek to extend this record.
In terms of team news, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon, and Rodrigo Bentancur are all ruled out for the rest of the season while Brentford’s top scorer Ivan Toney is suspended for eight months due to FA betting rules, and Christian Norgaard, Pontus Jansson, Keane Lewis-Potter, and Thomas Strakosha are out due to injuries.
The potential absence of Dier would see Emerson Royal continue in the back three alongside Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet, while for Brentford, they might consider switching to a back three with Mathias Jorgensen or Kristoffer Ajer recalled.
In conclusion, with both teams expected to chase a top-seven finish, a hard-fought match will be anticipated, and a draw may be a likely outcome with a 1-1 scoreline forecasted.
