Spurs’ Challenge: Facing the Rising Bees – Tottenham vs. Brentford
Tottenham vs. Brentford is certainly going to be interesting, as both teams need a victory for different reasons. Tottenham is looking great but would love to rise a few more spots to reach the Champions League, while Brentford must ensure they don’t enter the relegation zone.
Match Details
This upcoming game is going to be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday, January 31st. A kick-off time of 19:30 GMT is expected at the ground.
Team News
Tottenham is likely to miss a few key names for this matchup, with injuries to Alejo Veliz, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Manor Solomon, Giovani Lo Celso, Dejan Kulusevski, Ryan Sessegnon, and Dane Scarlett. Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma are still at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Heung-Min Son is out due to his involvement in the AFC Asian Cup.
Brentford is also missing several players for this game, including the likes of Rico Henry, Bryan Mbeumo, Aaron Hickey, Kevin Schade, Sergio Reguilon, and Christian Norgaard, as well as Africa Cup of Nations participants such as Yoane Wissa, Frank Onyeka, and Saman Ghoddos.
Recent Form
Tottenham is knocking on the door of the top three spots, as they are currently in 5th place with 40 points (three behind Arsenal in third). Their last five games included three wins, one loss, and one draw, with the most recent being a 2-2 draw against Manchester United.
Brentford, meanwhile, is fairly safe in 14th spot to avoid the relegation zone, but mounting losses are not going to help, and they’ll have to do better than 22 points. Their last five games have resulted in four losses and one victory, with their most recent game ending in a 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest.
Head-to-Head
These two teams actually match up very evenly based on previous games. The past five games featuring Tottenham vs. Brentford have resulted in three draws and one win each. This is good news for Brentford fans, as they will most certainly be the underdog here.
Key Players to Watch
There’s no doubt that the Tottenham Hotspurs really miss the skills of Son Heung-Min (12 goals in 20 matches). However, there’s still one great player to watch, and that’s Richarlison. The Brazilian forward has been outstanding and currently has 7 goals in 18 matches, one of which was against Manchester United in the 2-2 draw.
Brentford will have to rely on other players to score goals, as the top two players are both missing for the club, including Bryan Mbeumo (7 goals and 3 assists in 15 matches) and Yoane Wissa (4 goals in 19 matches). Brentford will have to trust heavily on either Mathias Jensen or Neal Maupay, who both look decent with three goals each.
Tactical Overview
Tottenham is fantastic at keeping possession of the football, creating short passes that are harder to defend against, and finishing scoring chances. Still, they need to work on stopping opponents from finding easy chances at the net and defending header opportunities.
Predictions
Tottenham will head into this match as the favourite, especially given their position on the ladder and playing at their home ground. They’ll have to perform better with Son Heung-Min missing the game. Tottenham has 3/5 odds to win, Brentford has low odds of 21/5 to win, and a draw is set at 7/2 odds. The Anytime Goalscorer bet is safest with Richarlison, who has odds of 13/10 and is likely to score with Son Heung-Min out. Tottenham has chances to win at 61%, Brentford to win at 18%, and a draw at 21%.
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