Tottenham Hotspur is going head to head with Brentford starting on 21 Sept 2024 at 14:00 UTC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stadium, London city, England.
Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford have a date in the Premier League on match day five in mid-September. The Whites made a strong start to the Premier League campaign last season but they could not sustain the momentum, while Brentford struggled greatly to get their season going but they eventually maintained their Premier League status when the season finished.
As of the time of writing, Spurs have not done much in the transfer market. Midfielder Archie Gray arrived from Championship side Leeds United for €41.25m, and Lucas Bergvall (18) also came in from Sweden for €10.00m. Both players are still teenagers, and while their talent might be huge, people do not think Spurs are ready to challenge for titles based on that. On the other hand, some players have also left North London and there is a keen look at whether the north London outfit will be able to mount a genuine challenge capable of winning trophies this season.
Defender Joe Rondon left for Leeds United, Eric Dier joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer, while Ryan Sessegnon, Tanguy Ndombélé, Ivan Perisic, Japhet Tanganga, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg left for Fulham, Nice, HNK Hajduk Split, Millwall and Marseille respectively.
Spurs were top of the Premier League after ten match days last season. They were genuine ‘title contenders’ at some point. However, they stumbled on their way after a chunk of injuries hit them. Manager Ange Postecoglou will be looking to improve their position on the log this season by taking the team to the UEFA Champions League at least. The Australian was also furious about the lack of trophies and fight in the club as a whole. Therefore, he might be keen to lead the club to her first silverware triumph in more than two decades.
On the other hand, Brentford missed the presence of talisman Ivan Toney for the first half of the 2023/24 season. Toney, who scored 33% of Brentford’s Premier League goals in the previous season, was served with an and a £50,000 fine for his gambling escapades.
Even after the ban was completed, Toney was not at his best as he could only manage four goals from 17 appearances. However, Yoane Wissa and Cameroonian international Bryan Mbeumo stepped up to provide the goals. The former returned 12 Premier League goals, while the latter scored nine Premier League goals to help the Bees beat the drop.
The Bees now have the full complement of their team right from the start and one would expect Thomas Frank and his side to trouble several teams this season. As of the time of writing, they have only signed Igor Thiago, a centre-forward from Club Brugge, for €33.00m. In terms of the exits, David Raya was sold to Arsenal permanently for €31.90m, while Shandon Baptiste left for Luton on a free transfer and a couple of others.
The two fixtures between the two teams were a goal fest last season. However, the return of Toney right from the start could be a huge difference this time around.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford’s head-to-head record shows that in the 7 meetings they’ve had, Tottenham Hotspur has won 3 times and Brentford has won 1 time. 3 fixtures ended in a draw. In terms of goals, Tottenham Hotspur scored 12 goals and Brentford scored 9 goals.
On the balance of things, it is expected to be an exciting match between two sides who play contrasting styles of football in the Premier League.
Team news
Line-ups
Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, known for their possession-heavy style of football, will be looking to control the game via the midfield with the experience and solidity of Rodrigo Bentancur, rejuvenated Bissouma and intelligent Lo Celso pulling the strings. Skipper Son Heung-Min should lead the attack alongside Richarlison. As of the time of writing, Destiny Udogie, Fraser Forster, Ben Davies and Richarlisona are nursing one injury or the other but some of them should be available for this game.
Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Bentancur, Lo Celso, Kulusevski, Son, Richarlison.
Thomas Frank and Brentford are pleased to have Ivan Toney right from the get-go this season as his unavailability affected them big time. Wissa scored a dozen Premier League goals last term and the manager will be hoping he can replicate those numbers this term. Josh Dasilva and Aaron Hickey are long-term absentees for the Bees.
Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock, Roerslav; Peart-Harris, Janelt, Norgaard, Onyeka; Wissa, Toney.
Prediction
Tottenham are expected to dominate the ball possession and probably create a tonne of chances against the Bees. Under Postecoglou, the Whites have been explosive in attack, but the defence is their greatest undoing. As much as they score a lot of goals, they also conceded a lot of them and it is one of the reasons they failed to make it to the Champions League last season. However, it remains to be seen whether they have learnt a thing or two since then.
As for Brentford, they are quite conservative in their play but devastating when they get it right as they can beat any team in the Premier League. Meanwhile, their only win over Spurs came at this stadium just a year ago. The visitors scored twice on their last visit to North London and Spurs will have to be wary of that.
Player status and confrontation history
From the perspective of player status, Tottenham Hotspur’s core players such as Son Heung-min are in good shape, and their performance will directly determine Tottenham’s offensive efficiency. After Brentford lost its efficient shooter, its offensive performance may be affected to a certain extent.
In the history of confrontation, Tottenham Hotspur has a certain advantage and has remained unbeaten in recent encounters. This psychological advantage may be further magnified in this game, affecting the performance of the players and the trend of the game.
With that being said, the Whites should do just enough to take all three points.