Tottenham Hotspur head back to the scene of one of Ange Postecoglou’s worst results last season on Saturday, with Thomas Frank primed to freshen up his side to face Brighton following the Champions League win in midweek – with TEAMtalk explaining why one change is coming at the perfect time.
Frank made two changes for the game against Villarreal on Tuesday night, with Joao Palhinha and Mathys Tel both stepping aside, and he is likely to make alterations again to keep that squad fresh ahead of a busy run of fixtures.
Indeed, Tottenham head to the south coast on Saturday before then starting to juggle Carabao Cup, Premier League and Champions League commitments.
In terms of the backline, TEAMtalk believes there is a chance Destiny Udogie gets the nod ahead of Djed Spence after a big week for the new England international. Indeed, Spence was replaced by Udogie with just over 20 minutes to go against Villarreal, in what was perhaps a precursor to what will happen on Saturday.
Spurs were 2-0 up and cruising at half-time at Brighton last season, only to shockingly collapse and eventually lose 3-2. And that was with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both starting.
It would be a huge gamble for Frank to rest either against the Seagulls, especially when it’s hard to imagine them being involved against Doncaster in midweek. Get the result at The Amex and then feet up ahead of next week’s visit of Wolves.
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Palhinha straight back in for Tottenham
In midfield, Palhinha slots straight back in to provide that solid base after Spurs looked too open at times against Villarreal.
The energy of Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall also gets them the nod, with Rodrigo Bentancur putting in a real shift against the LaLiga outfit in midweek and looking shot towards the end of that game.
It’s in attack where the real headline comes as Randal Kolo Muani gets his first chance in the starting XI after his deadline day loan switch from PSG.
The French forward made his debut off the bench against Villarreal, playing 13 minutes, and, having been in full training for a couple of weeks, gets the nod from the start so as not to risk the injury-prone Richarlson in back-to-back games.
Playing away from home, Kolo Muani provides more of a threat in behind with his pace and it’s merely been a matter of time before he was given the nod by Frank.
Completing the forward line, Xavi Simons continues on the left with Mahammed Kudus wide right as Spurs look to make it four wins from five Premier League outings – although it will not be easy on the south coast, it rarely is.
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