The title outsiders meet the European outsiders at the Amex Stadium on Thursday night, as Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the South Coast.
The Seagulls were held to a 1-1 stalemate by historic rivals Crystal Palace in their last pre-Christmas affair, while Ange Postecoglou's men scraped a nervy 2-1 win over Everton.
Match preview
© Reuters
Those of an Arsenal persuasion are already familiar with late Danny Welbeck headers, having witnessed the England striker come up with a vital injury-time contribution against Leicester City during the Foxes' 2015-16 title-winning campaign, and the 33-year-old repeated the trick at Selhurst Park last week.
The circumstances may not have been as dramatic this time around, but Welbeck's 82nd-minute intervention was pivotal, as an earlier Jordan Ayew header put Palace on the cusp of triumphing over their long-time adversaries in the so-called M23 derby before the Brighton man also flaunted his aerial prowess.
Despite representing a marked improvement on their 2-0 loss to Arsenal, where Roberto De Zerbi admitted his side were simply overwhelmed for 90 minutes, a Selhurst Park point left Brighton ninth in the table on account of a three-game winless run in the division, although they cannot be plunged any further down the rankings before kickoff.
The temporary absence of Europa League football for a couple of months will be an incredibly welcome sight for De Zerbi and his coaching staff, who have only masterminded two Premier League wins from the Seagulls' last 12 matches as they become accustomed to juggling domestic and continental commitments.
The hosts' clean sheet-less run in the division also stands at an alarming 22 matches, and while a seven-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League provides a moderate injection of confidence, they have lost their last three games of the calendar year to London clubs, going down to Arsenal in 2020 and 2022 either side of being beaten by Chelsea in 2021.
© Reuters
The New Year omens are therefore encouraging for Thursday's visitors, who welcomed fellow form side Everton to their North London base over the weekend and were on course for an emphatic success courtesy of Richarlison and Son Heung-min's strikes inside the opening 20 minutes.
However, Sean Dyche's galvanised troops were not giving up the ghost that easily and reduced the arrears through Andre Gomes, but after a late Arnaut Danjuma effort cannoned off the crossbar and Guglielmo Vicario before bouncing to safety, Tottenham were triumphant come the full-time whistle.
Postecoglou reserved special praise for number one Vicario as Spurs survived an onslaught of Everton attacks, allowing them to leapfrog faltering champions Manchester City into fourth place in the Premier League table, although the newly-crowned Club World Cup champions bumped them down to fifth with their own win over Everton on Wednesday.
Only a revitalised Bournemouth also won their last three top-flight games on the spin before Christmas Day, and Postecoglou's men will now endeavour to further consign their November plight to the past by doing something no previous Tottenham team has managed; win three matches in a row against Brighton.
Fourteen months ago, the formerly deadly Son-Harry Kane combination sunk Brighton in a 1-0 win for Tottenham, who also prevailed 2-1 on home turf later that year during the ill-fated reign of Cristian Stellini, who took the walk of shame in that game alongside De Zerbi following a dugout melee.
Team News
© Reuters
With 83 minutes gone at Selhurst Park, Brighton lost tricky winger Kaoru Mitoma to a blow to the ankle, and De Zerbi has now confirmed that the Japan international is facing four to six weeks on the sidelines as their perpetual injury crisis continues to plague them.
Neither Simon Adingra nor Carlos Baleba emerged for the second half of Brighton's draw with Palace, and the former will also be missing for a while owing to his hamstring issue, joining Solly March (knee), Julio Enciso (knee), Joel Veltman (knee), Ansu Fati (thigh), Tariq Lamptey (thigh) and Adam Webster (unspecified) in the infirmary, but Pervis Estupinan is back from his thigh problem.
Estupinan could even be deployed as a makeshift left winger if measures become that desperate, but for now, Joao Pedro and Facundo Buonanotte should reinforce the Seagulls' attack, which should also comprise a refreshed Evan Ferguson despite Welbeck's crucial contribution last week.
As for Tottenham, both of Richarlison and Cristian Romero were unable to complete the full 90 against Everton due to a sore back and tight hamstring respectively, and the latter is now set to miss at least four and potentially up to five weeks of action.
Romero - whose spot should be taken by Eric Dier - is welcomed into the infirmary by Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle), James Maddison (ankle), Micky van de Ven (thigh) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle), while Yves Bissouma will serve the second of a four-match suspension.
In brighter disciplinary news, Destiny Udogie is eligible for selection after a one-game ban and is set to demote Emerson Royal to the bench, in spite of the Brazilian's admirable display at left-back against Brighton.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Igor; Baleba, Gilmour; Pedro, Gross, Buonanotte; Ferguson
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Dier, Davies, Udogie; Skipp, Sarr; Johnson, Kulusevski, Son; Richarlison
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Still displaying an affinity for both scoring and conceding in the top flight, Brighton can trouble a Spurs backline that was fortunate to only concede the one goal against Everton, especially with lingering concerns around the fitness of Romero.
However, the Brighton medical team have not been afforded any festive respite either, and with De Zerbi's side still far too open at the back, Postecoglou's men can fight fire with even more fire to prevail.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
