A hungover Tottenham Hotspur side look to close out a rollercoaster season with one last dance in front of their fans as they prepare to face Brighton for their final Premier League game of the 2024/25 campaign on Sunday.
Apparently, it all wasn’t a dream. We’ve pinched ourselves enough and, with all our hearts out, we can proudly say, Tottenham Hotspur have finally lifted a trophy.
Everyone associated with the club have been on cloud nine ever since Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final of the Europa League, courtesy of a Brennan Johnson goal to end their 17-year silverware wait.
Currently sat 17th in the Premier League table and winless in their last six domestic fixtures, the champions of Europe will unfortunately have to take a brief pause from their celebrations. One final Premier League fixture awaits as they return home to North London, where they’ll be desperate to end their bitter domestic campaign on a high note.
Brighton, meanwhile, have faint hopes of securing European football next season. They must win this game and hope Chelsea lose both their remaining games against Nottingham Forest and their Conference League final against Real Betis. That said, Brighton will look to take care of their own business and be content with the significant improvements they’ve made this season.
The Seagulls come into this game off the back of a thrilling 3-2 win over Liverpool at the Amex, where goals from Mitoma and Hinshelwood sealed their fourth consecutive unbeaten outing in the league.
MORE SPURS STORIES
What time does Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton kick off?
Location: London, England
Stadium: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Date: Sunday, 25th May 2025
Kick-off Time: 4pm BST
Referee: Rob Jones
VAR: Michael Oliver
Tottenham vs Brighton: Head to head record
The reverse fixture was arguably Tottenham’s worst this season. They took a 2-0 half-time lead only to somehow lose 3-2 in the end.
That said, Spurs have still had the upper hand in recent meetings, winning five of the last seven clashes between the two sides. In fact, they’ve come out on top in seven of their last eight home league games against Brighton, with the only defeat that dates back to April 2022.
The Seagulls are chasing history. They’ve never won back-to-back league games against Spurs before. Unsurprisingly, the last four encounters between these two high line playing sides have produced 17 goals.
Tottenham team news
Every player who featured in the Europa League final gave it their absolute all, and understandably, there’ll be some fatigue in the squad. Richarlison came off around the hour mark looking slightly uncomfortable, though he appeared the most energetic during the post-match celebrations.
Micky van de Ven described his heroic goal-line clearance as “painful,” and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ange Postecoglou give him a well-earned rest.
We await further updates from the boss at Saturday’s press conference. James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin are all ruled out until next season.
Brighton team news
Jason Steele and Tariq Lamptey are both doubts for this game. Meanwhile, Joao Pedro is unavailable following a training ground altercation with teammate Jan Paul van Hecke, having already missed the Liverpool game.
Georginio Rutter, Solly March, Ferdi Kadioglu, and James Milner are all ruled out with longer-term issues.
Predicted Tottenham line-up
Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Danso, Spence, Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur, Odobert, Son, Tel
We’re stuck on a hanging seesaw here. Ange Postecoglou could either rotate heavily to rest his Europa League warriors or send them out for one last outing. We’ve struck a balance in this predicted XI.
Kinsky, Ben Davies and Archie Gray may be considered as rotations in the back 4. The midfield options, however, remain thin. That will mean the same trio may continue unless Ange decides to throw Gray in the mix. Up front, he might rest both Dominic Solanke and Richarlison after their midweek shifts.
Our prediction
As this preview goes live, the streets of North London are packed white. The trophy parade is in full swing and who would’ve imagined? A club languishing 17th domestically, led by a manager who not long ago faced wave after wave of scrutiny and criticism. Yet here they are: Champions of Europe and it’s all happened the Ange Way.
There were magical scenes at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Wednesday where the final was screened live. When the final whistle was blown in Bilbao, a massive pitch invasion followed. Fans had to be hilariously sent off the turf as the ground staff reminded them there’s still one more game to be played there this season. Fair to say, after such a sweet, long wait of 17 years, similar scenes aren’t very unlikely.
Ange won’t want his players to switch off just yet. He knows the importance of ending on a high, especially for the supporters. Tottenham have only lost their final league fixture once in the past 14 seasons (W11, D2), winning the last four by a combined score of 16-3. That’s a stat Ange will hope to extend. On the flip side, Brighton have lost five of their seven Premier League season finales. (BBC Sport)
Spurs fans are still sore from that reverse fixture collapse. There’s a score to settle, and with spirits soaring at an all-time high, we expect Spurs to get the job done