Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to boost their top-four hopes when they play host to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.
While Spurs head into this game on a four-game winning streak, the Seagulls will be looking to claim successive league victories in North London after beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
Match preview
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Another major twist in the race for the top-four occurred last weekend, as Tottenham cruised to a 4-0 victory away at Aston Villa, while North London rivals Arsenal suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at home against Brighton.
A brilliant hat-trick from Son Heung-min and a strike from January signing Dejan Kulusevski helped Antonio Conte's side secure all three points, and that result means that their top-four fate is now in their own hands.
While Arsenal in fifth still have a game in hand on fourth-placed Spurs, the latter are three points clear of their rivals and have a greater goal difference heading into the final seven league fixtures.
After failing to get on the scoresheet in the 5-1 win over Newcastle United, Harry Kane also drew a blank in front of goal at Villa Park, but the England captain was still an influential cog in Conte's machine as he set up two of Son's goals, taking his assist tally in the league to eight for the campaign, just four behind Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold leading the way on 12.
As a collective group, Tottenham have certainly found their form in front of goal in recent weeks, scoring 25 times in their last seven Premier League matches, with at least two goals scored in each of those matches.
Spurs have already had joy facing Brighton in 2022, winning 3-1 on home soil in the FA Cup fourth round in February, before securing a 2-0 league victory at the Amex Stadium last month. Success for the Lilywhites on Saturday would see them win five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since December 2018.
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After six successive defeats and then a goalless draw at home to Norwich City, Graham Potter finally saw his side return to winning ways last weekend in a game from which few would have expected the Seagulls to claim maximum points.
Strikes from Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu either side of half time put Brighton two goals in front at the Emirates, and although Martin Odegaard's deflected strike in the 89th-minute gave the Gunners hopes of a comeback, Potter's men held on for all three points.
Brighton's poor run of form had seen them slip into the bottom half of the table, but last weekend's victory has seen them climb up to 11th place, level on points with Crystal Palace in the top 10.
The Seagulls can now take plenty of confidence to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, but results on the road against Spurs have been hard to come by over the years, as they have won only one of their last nine away league matches against them, losing each of the last five in succession since a 1-0 win back in October 1981.
Should Brighton cause another upset in North London, they would become just the second team in Premier League history to win away at both Arsenal and Tottenham in consecutive league games, after Hull City in October 2008.
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Team News
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Tottenham will be without Matt Doherty for the rest of the season, after he sustained a knee injury early in the first half against Aston Villa, while Japhet Tanganga (knee) and Oliver Skipp (groin) are also on the treatment table.
Doherty is set to be replaced by either Sergio Reguilon or Ryan Sessegnon – with the former the most likely to start at left wing-back – but otherwise, Conte is set to name an unchanged starting lineup on Saturday.
The formidable attacking trio of Kane, Son and Kulusevski is set to remain intact, with Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn having to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench once again.
As for Brighton, their only injury concern is with midfielder Jakub Moder, who is ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
The Seagulls have been boosted by the return of centre-back Adam Webster, who made his first appearance since February 15 when he came off the bench in the win at Arsenal.
Webster could return to the heart of the defence on Saturday, and his inclusion would likely see a reshuffle to Potter's first XI, with midfielder Moises Caicedo dropping to the bench, Marc Cucurella moving up to left wing-back and Trossard switching from the left flank to a more central role in attack.
Tariq Lamptey and Neal Maupay, who started on the bench against Arsenal, will also be looking to force their way into the starting lineup and could replace Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck respectively.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; Lamptey, Bissouma, Mwepu, Cucurella; Mac Allister, Trossard; Maupay
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Both sides head into Saturday's fixture in high spirits but the momentum is certainly with Tottenham, who are in free-scoring form and have their eyes firmly set on Champions League qualification.
Brighton are sure to pose a threat in the final third, but we can see the hosts coming out on top and piling more pressure on their top-four rivals.
Oliver Thomas
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 61.49%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 17.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.25%) and 2-1 (9.95%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.92%), while for a Brighton & Hove Albion win it was 0-1 (4.94%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 4.9% likelihood.
