The Premier League’s in-form club takes on its stragglers. A manager meets his former club.
For this Tottenham team struggling with mentality, form and injuries, the last side they would want to meet would be the one that has won five of their last six matches and is chasing down a spot in European football.
And yet that is the luck of the draw. Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game will be to play host to his former club Brighton, who have won more points than any other team since match week 27.
Spurs Struggling
Thanks to Spurs’ 0-1 defeat by Sunderland last weekend they now sit two points behind West Ham in 17th. Nothing less than a win will do to put the brakes on an increasingly dire downward spiral, but it would take a performance better than anything they have been able to produce recently.
Spurs were also unlucky to add captain Cristian Romero to their long injury list on Sunday. The defender went off in the North East having collided with his own keeper Antonin Kinsky. The pivotal defender is set to miss the rest of the season in another huge blow to a side lacking leaders to push them on the pitch.
De Zerbi is pinning everything on a “positive” mentality
De Zerbi declared that he remains “positive”, despite the defeat and the fear of relegation that looms: “I am positive, not because we are Tottenham or because I have to be positive.
“They have the quality enough to win one game and the target now, the closer target is to win one game because if we win a game we can see everything in a different way,” he added.
“My job is not now to change the style of play; the crucial part is not with the ball or without the ball. It’s in our mentality to be positive, but to be positive just because we have the quality enough to win a game and when we go to win a game, we can change everything.”
You could argue that changing Tottenham’s style of play might be an easier task than fixing the mentality of a team that have now extended their winless run to 14 games and are staring relegation in the face.
The team need to find a positive mindset to win a game but also look like they need to win a game to find that positive outlook. Anyone would struggle to break out of that chicken and egg scenario, and with six games to go, four against teams in the top half, few would envy De Zerbi the task.
Can Brighton capitalize to take control?
De Zerbi’s first home league game as Brighton boss was against Spurs, a fixture he lost 1-0. Following his rocky start, however, the Italian lifted Brighton to their first ever European qualification with a sixth-place finish back in 2023.
He remains popular at the club, with his replacement Fabian Hürzeler acknowledging De Zerbi’s “huge impact” there: “He had great achievements with the players, he helped the club reach Europe for the first time so he deserves this praise.”
But now it is Hürzeler who holds the reins at Brighton and is poised to replicate De Zerbi’s success. His side enter the weekend in ninth place, just two points behind Chelsea in sixth. This week presents a golden opportunity to take control in the closely fought contest for European football: Everton in eighth face a tough Merseyside derby and Brentford in seventh have slipped up recently, only winning one of their last five.
Brighton will only face two teams in the top 10 (Chelsea and Man United) in their final six games, and if they use the momentum they have built, they stand a very strong chance of capitalizing on the weaknesses of Spurs, Newcastle, Wolves and Leeds and securing a place in Europe once again.
Hürzeler’s Vision is Clear
Speaking ahead of the tie, the Brighton manager was careful not to get carried away by his team’s recent performances, saying: “It’s very important to get an understanding that form doesn’t win you a game.
“We shouldn’t get too distracted by the table. It’s very important to not underestimate any team,” he continued. “They have quality, they just have a little bit of a lack of confidence.
“We have the same approach to any other game – we have to reach our high standards. We have to play with the highest intensity we have in our bodies.”
Brighton have been excellent in defence away from home, keeping clean sheets in their last three away games and only conceding five goals in their last eight league games. Brighton came away on top in both league meetings last season but conceded two after going 2-0 up earlier this season to walk away with a draw.
It feels almost inevitable that this weekend will only spell defeat for Spurs again. They have simply not shown that they have anything else in them, let alone the spirit to come from two goals down again. The question remains for De Zerbi: what can he draw upon to inspire his team to fight a side that has been as dominant as Brighton?
