Having been granted an extra weekend's worth of preparation courtesy of Storm Arwen, Tottenham Hotspur prepare to welcome Brentford to North London on Thursday in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte's side saw their game with Burnley postponed over the weekend, while the Bees saw off the threat of Everton 1-0.
Match preview
© Reuters
Ten minutes after the lineups were confirmed ahead of a frosty Turf Moor encounter, referee Peter Bankes ultimately decided that the conditions were too severe for Burnley's game with Tottenham to go ahead on Sunday, with Storm Arwen battering Lancashire hard.
The Lilywhites' long and arduous journey to Turf Moor was ultimately in vain, but Antonio Conte admitted that the conditions made it "impossible" for a real game of football to be played as the Italian now looks ahead to returning to familiar turf in midweek.
Conte's first Premier League game at home in the Spurs hotseat ended in jubilation with a 2-1 win over Leeds United before his side were embarrassed by NS Mura in the Europa Conference League, with numerous fringe players failing to grasp their opportunities for more minutes.
Spurs do now have the luxury of a game in hand on all the sides above them as they occupy seventh spot in the rankings - one point below Wolverhampton Wanderers - but North London rivals Arsenal are currently out of sight.
Tottenham have made a bit of a habit of winning one then losing one at home in the Premier League - which does not bode well for them ahead of this weekend - and London derbies have not exactly been their forte, losing their last five against fellow capital sides.
© Reuters
A dismal five-game winless run seemingly confirmed that Brentford were starting to find out just how hard it is to mix with the big boys, but Thomas Frank's side once again produced the goods in front of their own fans to sink Everton at the weekend.
With the Toffees in the midst of their own winless slump under Rafael Benitez, Ivan Toney confidently dispatched a 24th-minute penalty to hand the Bees all three points on the day and mark their first top-flight victory since the beginning of October.
Brentford have slowly slipped into mid-table obscurity, though, as they enter the gameweek 12th in the rankings before Tuesday and Wednesday's games kick off - seven points clear of the relegation zone and seven adrift of the top five.
Frank's side have also suffered just one defeat on their travels since earning promotion to the Premier League for the very first time - only Chelsea have lost fewer - but their depleted defence has let in six goals in their last two matches away from home.
Brentford and Spurs did lock horns last season in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, and that encounter ended in a resounding 2-0 victory for the North London club thanks to Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min's strikes.
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Tottenham continue to cope without Cristian Romero, with Conte fearing that the Argentine's hamstring injury is "serious", and Giovani Lo Celso also sits on the sidelines.
Dane Scarlett is also struggling with an ankle problem but was never going to displace Harry Kane, who will be aiming to make Brentford the 31st Premier League team he has scored against.
Davinson Sanchez was named in the first XI for the Burnley encounter despite his shaky showing at Mura, so Conte could stick with the original lineup from the postponed Turf Moor battle.
Meanwhile, an injury-hit Brentford saw Rico Henry and Sergi Canos both forced off in the win over Everton, but Frank is confident that both players will be fine for this game.
The same can be said for Christian Norgaard, but the Bees will continue to cope without David Raya, Kristoffer Ajer, Mathias Jorgensen and Josh Dasilva.
Yoane Wissa and Mads Roerslev will both come into contention for starts if Canos and Henry are not fit enough to feature from the off, and Bryan Mbeumo's spot could also come under a threat after going five games without a goal.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lucas, Kane, Son
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Goode, Pinnock, Jansson; Canos, Norgaard, Onyeka, Janelt, Henry; Toney, Wissa
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brentford
Spurs' first XI will certainly benefit from the enforced rest granted to them ahead of this contest, and the home crowd will be demanding an immediate response to their Slovenia humiliation.
Brentford boss Frank has some more injury concerns to deal with, and his side are not exactly experts in keeping the back door shut away from home, so we expect the Lilywhites to prevail in a tightly-fought battle.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 43.82%. A win for Brentford had a probability of 29.24% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.78%) and 2-0 (8.19%). The likeliest Brentford win was 0-1 (9.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.75%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would win this match.
