Spurs look to continue fine start under Thomas Frank as they head to the Amex
Bad memories: Tottenham were 2-0 up at the Amex Stadium last season and went on to lose to Brighton
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Alex Dakers|Matt Verri
Brighton vs Tottenham LIVE!
The new Thomas Frank era continues for Spurs as they travel to the south coast this afternoon. It’s been a positive start to the season for Tottenham, who begin the weekend sitting third in the Premier League table behind only Liverpool and Arsenal having bounced back quickly from a shock home defeat against Bournemouth by easily brushing aside struggling London rivals West Ham last time out.
Spurs then marked their return to the Champions League with a hard-fought win over Villarreal in midweek to continue the early feel-good factor under Frank, who was making his managerial debut in the competition. Now he will want to change Tottenham’s fortunes in a fixture in which they have typically struggled in recent times, losing three of their last four games against Brighton - including both top-flight matches last season despite leading 2-0 away at half-time under Ange Postecoglou.
Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have won only one of their first four league games, though that was against Manchester City before they were also toppled by Bournemouth. Follow Brighton vs Tottenham live below, with expert analysis from Standard Sport’s Matt Verri at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton vs Tottenham latest news
Brighton players arrive at the Amex Stadium
The hosts have arrived at the Amex!
With just about an hour and a half to go until kick-off, we’re expecting full team news shortly.
Analysis: Have Spurs struck gold with Simons signing?
There are few 22-year-olds who can say they have faced the glare of football’s spotlight for more than a decade. Attention and expectation are nothing new for Xavi Simons, Tottenham’s statement signing, writes Matt Verri.
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Named after the former Barcelona midfielder and manager, he was a child prodigy at the club’s La Masia academy after joining at the age of seven. With his distinct blond curls adding to the intrigue, Simons had over a million Instagram followers by the age of 14.
“People used to have doubts and say: ‘We don’t know if Xavi can play football well, he just has a lot of Instagram followers’,” Simons admitted in an interview in 2023.
The journey since has taken him from Barcelona to London, via Paris, Eindhoven and Leipzig. It has been an unusual career trajectory.
He was training with Lionel Messi and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain before he could legally drive, having already appeared alongside Ronaldinho and Neymar in a Nike advert at the age of 15.
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Unable to make his mark at PSG, a sparkling season at PSV got Simons’ career back on track and two years at RB Leipzig cemented his status as one of Europe’s brightest talents.
It was a major coup, therefore, for Spurs to complete a £51.8million deal this summer. Chelsea had already agreed personal terms with Simons but their London rivals moved quickly to secure the playmaker.
Find the full piece here!
Frank drops hint over Simons position
Thomas Frank suggested Xavi Simons could move into a more central at Tottenham as the team develops, but explained his decision to use the summer signing on the left wing since he arrived.
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Simons started out wide in the wins over West Ham and Villarreal, with Frank opting to keep Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr in midfield.
The Dutchman was largely quiet against West Ham but there were more promising signs of his partnership with Destiny Udogie in the Champions League on Tuesday, even if Simons was perhaps fortunate to avoid being sent off in the second half when already on a yellow card.
Although results have been largely positive under Frank, Spurs have struggled for large periods to create chances from open play, leading to calls for Simons to be used in the No10 role.
Speaking at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Brighton, Frank again stated he “sees [Simons] in both positions”.
Read the full story here.
Pre-match preview: Frank faced with tricky Brighton test
There are not a lot of recent happy memories for Tottenham at the Amex Stadium, writes Matt Verri.
Spurs fans will all too vividly remember last season's visit, a 3-2 defeat to Brighton and a result that the team's Premier League season never really recovered from.
Ange Postecoglou's side, at the time on a run of five straight wins, were 2-0 up at the break but collapsed in the second half.
It was miserable for Spurs a year earlier, too. They were 4-0 down with ten minutes to go and only late consolation goals from Ben Davies and Alejo Veliz added a modicum of respectability to the scoreline.
Add in a 4-1 defeat on home soil to Brighton last season and it paints an ugly picture of results and performances against this particular opposition under Postecoglou.
Thomas Frank, though, will not be burdened by those defeats. Asked if his preparations for this afternoon's trip to the south coast included watching recent meetings between the two sides, the Spurs boss was clear.
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Who's in better form?
Tottenham played in the Champions League in midweek for the first time since the 2022-23 season, when they were knocked out in the last-16 by AC Milan.
An own goal from Luiz Junior on four minutes gave them a narrow victory over Villarreal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and they return to domestic action this afternoon against a Brighton side in indifferent form.
Fabian Hürzeler’s team were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth last time out, having stunned Manchester City by the same scoreline the week before.
They thrashed Championship side Oxford 6-0 in the Carabao Cup to follow a 2-0 defeat at Everton and a last-minute draw against Fulham on the opening day.
As for Spurs, a shock 0-1 home defeat to Bournemouth a few weeks ago has been Thomas Frank’s only loss so far this season. The Lilywhites have otherwise beaten Burnley, City and West Ham - all to nil.
Brighton vs Tottenham match odds: Spurs the favourites
Brighton to win: 13/10
Draw: 13/5
Tottenham to win: 2/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
Brighton vs Tottenham head-to-head history
Brighton wins: 12
Draws: 8
Tottenham wins: 21
Score prediction
These are two teams that, typically, are consistently inconsistent.
One week they can be near-enough unstoppable, and the next, they can be cut through like butter.
Spurs showed their pragmatic side at times against Villarreal last time out, and they used that to their advantage to grind out an important first win in the Champions League.
Brighton are a much younger side that can be exposed at times, and with their injury issues, they are not at their strongest, particularly when Fabian Hürzeler chops and changes his line-up as often as he does.
This is a game that Spurs - who have four wins and four clean sheets from five games in all competitions so far this season - feel they should win.
Tottenham to win, 3-1.
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Tottenham early team news: Palhinha pushing for start
Spurs remain without striker Dominic Solanke, though he is edging closer to returning from an ankle injury.
James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski and Kota Takai are also all still sidelined for the visitors.
Joao Palhinha started on the bench against Villarreal during the week but made a significant impact when he came on and there is every chance he earns a starting spot here.
We’d expect fellow summer arrivals Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons to also be named in Thomas Frank’s XI, with the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr also in good form.
Joao Palhinha
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Brighton early team news: Hinshelwood out, De Cuyper a doubt
For today’s hosts, Adam Webster and Solly March remain side-lined for an extended period with serious knee injuries, though Mats Wieffer is back along with Diego Gomez.
Brighton’s left-back Maxim De Cuyper is a doubt, but Jack Hinshelwood is now a long-term absentee after picking up an ankle injury early on in last weekend’s loss to Bournemouth.
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