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Thomas Frank's preferred best starting XI for Tottenham Hotspur is slowly starting to come to shape with five Premier League matchdays in the books, and the likes of Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall have recently come around to stake their claims for valuable minutes in the lineup.

There are a handful of players who already came into the season as undisputed starters, most prominently the defensive trio of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Pedro Porro. And new signings Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons have made it clear that they are the main difference-makers for Tottenham this season.

But there are plenty of open positions in competition, especially in the attack. Tottenham don't yet have a definitive solution at striker after watching Richarlison fumble at striker, and after failing to sign Savinho or another winger before the transfer deadline, the left wing position in a post-Son Heung-min world is still up for grabs.

One player who could grab that position is Wlison Odobert, but he royally screwed up a golden opportunity to put himself ahead of the pack by producing arguably the worst performance of any player on the pitch against Brighton.

Tottenham may give him fewer starts now

Odobert, who was a standout for Burnley before making a move to Tottenham, has a lot invested in him and is a quality player on the ball and in training. It appears he impressed Thomas Frank in training enough to draw the start on the left wing against Brighton, but he might not start the next few after how putrid he was.

The Frenchman was anonymous, and that's putting it kindly. Odobert created absolutely nothing for his team. He had no key passes, no shots, no dribbles completed, nothing. He looked scared off the ball, hid behind defenders, never attempted to dribble past anyone, and merely passed it sideways instead of being positive on it.

And he certainly didn't do Richarlison any favors at striker either, failing to get on the same wavelenght as the Brazilian. He rarely ran with Richarlison, often hanging him out to dry and isolating him with nobody to combine with.

Odobert is just 20 years old and a very raw player, but that's not the end of it. Any senior player in the Tottenham squad is expected to attempt to make a difference, and the most frustrating aspect of Odobert's performance is how bland it was. There was so little effort, and with playres like Mathys Tel or even Randal Kolo Muani chomping at the bit for starts on the left wing, Odobert just moved himself way down the pecking order.

Although Brighton are a tough side and often give Tottenham Hotspur trouble, the mentality from this club has to transition towards seeing any game like this where Spurs draw a smaller side as a msised opportunity and nothing more than dropped points. Instead of one point won, it was two points lost for Spurs, who additionally played poorly overall.

Tottenham have mostly played well to start Thomas Frank's first season at the helm, but matches like this one and the awful loss to Bournemouth are reminders that there is still a long way to go before Spurs can even pretend to be Premier League title contenders, largely owing to a lack of star power in the squad.

And no position has the lack of quality been more obvious than on the left wing. Tottenham are just begging for someone to break out and take the mantle from legend Son Heung-min, who left this summer to MLS and has left a gaping void whose chasm is only growing with each game like this one.

Both talented youngsters Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert have failed to take advantage of their opportunities at the position. Frank seems to favor Odobert, who drew the start against Brighton, but he ended up being much worse than Tel, creating and producing literally nothing of statistical or sentimental value against Brighton.

Tottenham should have signed Savinho

Odobert's woeful display, in conjunction with Richarlison's aimless flailing about the pitch, were stark reminders that Tottenham absolutely have to find a starting left winger in the coming January 2026 transfer window.

Tottenham, truthfully, should have signed another winger in addition to Mohammed Kudus, but they badly botched the Savinho scramble and ended up empty-handed. Unless if Randal Kolo Muani can surprisingly emerge as a left wing solution, this has not only become priority No. 1 on the transfer market (it already was), but it has become Spurs No. 1 aim as a club if they want to truly be a power in the Premier League.

Xavi Simons can't be forced to play on the left wing in lieu of a credible option, and both Tel and Odobert are still too raw for the position - and Odobert may not honestly have the profile for the wings. Kudus has been a brilliant, transformative signing for Tottenham, so you can only imagine what he and the team would be capable of if they were to sign a similar level of player in January.

Saturday's away fixture on Matchday 5 of the Premier League was a forgettable one for Tottenham Hotspur, and while a road trip against Brighton could always be worse than 2-2 draw, it was the manner in which Spurs played that was so disconcerting.

Although Thomas Frank could have done a better job with his team selection, leaving Xavi Simons on the bench, he actually had his team set up pretty well tactically. It's just that the players were lost, lethargic, and sloppy, with only a precious few starters distinguishing themselves in a positive manner.

One of those starters was decidedly not Lucas Bergvall. After a sensational Man of the Match performance with a goal and an assist against rivals West Ham last weekend and another Man of the Match at mid-week in the Champions League vs. Villarreal, Bergvall was riding high as a now indispensible part of the Thomas Frank team.

Instead of building on that further in an open game against Brighton, Bergvall was shocking. He made ghastly touches and looked genuinely out of it off the ball, running away from the channels and generally taking himself out of the equation on most passes of play.

Still a work in progress for Tottenham

There will be much better days for the young Swedish midfielder, and he did actively make tackles and looked good transitioning on the ball with his athleticism.

However, off the ball, Bergvall reminded Tottenham supporters that he is still a young player and a work in progress. He is a great young player, no doubt, but he is far from the finished product. And it shows in some of the decisions he makes in terms of where he runs into the space or players he fails to pick up marking.

Bergvall cost Tottenham one goal and didn't help add to any. Spurs were surprisingly better without him on the pitch, and, from that standpoint, you really have to say that the breakout star let his team down in an important match against Brighton, who are a potential top five rival in the Premier League this season.

There's no need to make any shocking generalizations, though. Young players - and players in general, even great ones - will have games like this where they look miles off it, so the next thing for Bergvall to continue to work on this season is building the consistency that world-class midfielders need to be truly world-class midfield players.

Tottenham Hotspur have always suffered when facing off against Brighton, and Saturday afternoon's road trip was no different. In truth, Spurs should be very happy they were able to escape the match with a point, as they were lethargic for much of the game before Xavi SImons came in and offered a spark.

Whereas Brighton's young stars were sprightly and offered moments of individual brilliance, such as Yasin Ayari's blinder from range, Spurs players plodded throughout the match and either looked stale or outright lost.

Aside from Mohammed Kudus, who only really showed up one Simons entered the pitch, Tottenham lacked any sort of star power. And that can be seen in the difference between the quality of the goals these two teams scored, as Spurs lucked out on a scrappy opener and then got even luckier with an own goal for the equalizer.

Coming into the season, everyone knew that Tottenham were lacking game-changing players. Their only two difference-makers were their literal two big attacking summer transfers in Simons and Kudus, and these two were literally the difference offensively in this one.

Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons can't do it all

But alone, Kudus can't do it all. Even Simons and Kudus together isn't enough star power to compete with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool who all have a handful of highly capable players who can change a game by directly impacting the scoreline - and they have deeper benches than Spurs.

Brighton highlighted how far behind Tottenham are in terms of having enough Premier League quality difference-makers who can change a game with dynamism, one-on-one ability, and create gilt-edged chances with a killer pass or convert efficiently in front of goal.

Lucas Bergvall is still growing, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson showed they aren't at the level Tottenham need each week, and Richarlison was poor up top. Tottenham did well to sign Simons and Kudus, bu for a team that was 17th last season, that's not nearly enough to make sure Spurs are among the top teams in the Premier League, which is where they want to start building towards in this new project under Frank - and without Daniel Levy in charge of it all.

Frank has been a brilliant tactician for Tottenham already, but he can't beat players one-on-one on the pitch. He can't make the through passes or crosses. He isn't the one on the field shooting the ball in front of goal. Tottenham need players who can take the game by the scruff of the neck, because, right now, they only have two of those, and that's not enough to be a real contender in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur are in a stage of transition this year, beacuse after winning the Europa League, they replaced their coach, signed two of the three most expensive players in club history, and, maybe most importantly, finally gave chairman Daniel Levy the axe just days after the summer transfer window closed.

So far, Tottenham have been an improved team to start the 2025/26 Premier League season, as last year's 17th-placed outfit have only lost one game in five with three of those five victories being a clean sheet. They are looking more secure and playing better football under new coach Thomas Frank than they were under recent Nottingham Forest hire Ange Postecoglou.

However, not everything is perfect for Tottenham, and as they continue to tweak the squad in Frank's image with new star-making additions, they are going to have to get real and make some brutal cuts to clear the way for the new faces.

One of those cuts could be the hero who won Tottenham the Europa League over Manchester United and scored more goals than any other player in the 2024/25 season, Brennan Johnson.

Now, Johnson is a smart player who has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and Tottenham spent a lot of money to sign him ahead of clubs like Brentford, back when Frank was pushing hard to sign him for the Bees.

The thing is, Johnson doesn't really offer much besides scrappy goals. He doesn't score many great individual goals, he barely progresses the ball, he can't win one-on-ones, he's a liability in his own half, his defensive work is atrocious, and he offers no chance creation or creativity.

Johnson has two goals already this season, but Spurs quickly had to drop him from the starting lineup after a true disasterclass against Bournemouth. He was so bad that he didn't look like he belonged on a Premier League pitch, and, sadly, Tottenham fans saw scenes like that often last season.

He has come off the bench in his last two games against West Ham and Brighton, offering nothing in either appearance. He was particularly appalling on the left wing against Brighton, somehow being a downgrade on Wilson Odobert with no relevant attacking addition and only backwards passes.

With Mohammed Kudus sealing the right wing as his own as the team's new attacking star, Tottenham have no place for Johnson there. And he has been so awful on the left side that there's no place for him there either, unless Spurs want to risk losing every game like they did against Bournemouth. He is untenable in that position.

Johnson is a good player and still only 24 years old. That said, he's also no longer a prospect. At this stage, he is who he is, and that is a flawed, secondary goal-scorer who can't play at striker or anywhere else other than the right wing. And when he isn't getting on the end of team goals as a poacher on the wings, he isn't offering much.

Tottenham may have to sacrifice him for a new left winger who can play that position, because with Dejan Kulusevski also coming back to be the second fiddle to Kudus on the right wing, there's just no space left for Johnson, especially if he keeps dropping all-around stinkers.

Lucas Bergvall has been one of Tottenham's shining lights of 2025, with the teenager's beacon-of-hope-like form from last season permeating into the start of a new era.

Despite strong interest from Barcelona, Spurs impressively sold their vision to the Swedish starlet in early 2024, and the burgeoning Djurgårdens midfielder officially joined the club in July. There was a sense that the north London club had made quite the coup, but it'd take a little while for Bergvall's promise to manifest in N17.

The midfielder was used sporadically by Ange Postecoglou during the first half of 2024/25, although he made his Premier League debut on the opening weekend of the season. There were plenty of harsh learning experiences, such as his early substitution in the 3-0 win over Qarabag due to Radu Drăgușin's red card, but early adversity sparked swift growth.

Bergvall has been on an upward trajectory since his breakout performance against Liverpool in the first leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final. Amid the domestic misery of last season, the dynamic midfielder served as a reason to believe in the club's future, and his season-ending ankle injury had the potential to scupper Spurs' Europa League dream. Fortunately, Brennan Johnson didn't let that happen.

Thomas Frank explains how Lucas Bergvall can improve

Thomas Frank has shuffled his midfield personnel around at the start of the new season, but Bergvall is quickly gaining indispensable status.

The Swede offered a source of guile and enthusiasm that was sorely lacking in the defeat to Bournemouth, and his campaign ignited away at West Ham last weekend. Bergvall's first Premier League goal was a beauty, as he masterfully lofted a header over Mads Hermansen from Cristian Romero's inch-perfect pass.

He was subsequently awarded UEFA's Player of the Match award after Tuesday's 1-0 win over Villarreal, during which he triggered Luiz Júnior's comical own goal four minutes into his Champions League debut by bursting down the right and aiming a cross for Richarlison.

The 19-year-old is a Duracell bunny-like figure in midfield, who combines high energy with a slickness in possession that suggests he can perform multiple roles to an impressive standard. The fact that he can only get better is mightily exciting, and Frank has outlined how Bergvall can take his game to the next level.

“He is going from strength to strength, and he has that extra confidence," the Dane said (via The Spurs Express on X), "he has so much energy where we have to tell him not to run [in certain moments]. More of the deep runs and arriving in higher positions are key.

"He is learning to be more and more clever in the pressure. We need his enthusiasm.”

Taming the eagerness of youth seems to be Frank's plan, with Bergvall's overzealousness occasionally getting him into trouble, with and without the ball. The manager wants to harness his energy and help him become a more efficient operator.

The foundations have been installed, and Bergvall has the right manager at his disposal to help him realise his infinite potential.

In all honesty, Tottenham Hotspur were fortunate to have even gotten a point out of their road trip to Brighton, as the Seagulls remain a real bogey team for Spurs. If it weren't for Richarlison's scrappy first and a lucky equalizing own goal, Spurs would have been left to rue a shutout loss a much more impressive Brighton side and even more negative water cooler talk from the Tottenham faithful.

And one of the biggest reasons for Tottenham not completely botching the game was the second half inclusion of Xavi Simons, who stepped in for veteran midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and manned the No. 10 role.

Xavi was the spark Spurs needed all along, as he was the first player from midfield to actually drive into the box and look positive. He was the only midfielder on Tottenham in the entire game who was creating and taking shots for himself, as well as slotting others into position to score.

Simons reminded Thomas Frank that leaving him out of the starting lineup - or playing him anywhere else other than the 10 - is tantamount to malpractice. He was obviously the difference-maker for Tottenham in this game, changing their fortunes, and just about everyone and their nan knows that Simons has to start. That's what they paid for.

Destiny Udogie is underrated

But Simons wasn't actually Spurs best player in the game from start to finish. That honor belongs to left back Destiny Udogie, who has returned to health and reclaimed the starting spot on the left in competition with Djed Spence, one of the best one-on-one defenders in world football.

Udogie didn't look half bad defensively against an exciting Brighton attack either, and he, of course, offers more going forward than Spence can. That attacking verve is especially important to Tottenham, because they already have a world-class center back partnership. What they don't have, though, is a world-class left winger - or even one who looks starting caliber in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old turned in a crisp, underrated performance. You could scarcely hear a peep down his flank defensively, while he did a solid job of progressing play on the ball and with accurate passing. Udogie has been one of the better left backs in the Premier League since arriving from Udinese, and given the balance of the squad, you'd also have to put him in the starting lineup as a regular. Both he and Simons made very strong cases for themselves, even amidst a disappointing team display.

Tottenham Hotspur scraped and survived enough to notch a point on the road against Brighton on Matchday 5 of the Premier League, but, to be quite frank, there was nothing impressive about this match. And to be even blunter, Spurs are honestly fortunate they even got anything out of this game.

Both goals Spurs scored were more down to fortune than quality, whereas Brighton were much more lively on the counterattack. Were it not for the world-class center back partnership bailing them out again, the disjointed performances on the pitch by the midfield and attack would be criticized much more heavily.

As it stands, even Spurs loan goal-scorer of the day, Richarlison, isn't absolved of criticism, as he was astoundingly below-average in his hold-up play. Tottenham supporters could only cringe while watching Richy spend more time arguing with officials, clutching his back, or otherwise engaging in theatrics as opposed to holding the ball competently and finding his teammates.

Of course, it didn't help that the rest of his teammates were just as poor as he was for most of the match. That being said, Richarlison did not look like a true focal point for the Tottenham attack, and ever since scoring two goals against Burnley and assisting another against Manchester City, he's been highly underwhelming.

Tottenham learned a valuable lesson about Richarlison

So how does Tottenham manager get the "good" Richarlison to show up again? Simply put, he has to be honest and take stock of this Brighton game, because it was a perfect microcosm of what Richarlison isn't and has never been - neither for Spurs nor even for Everton.

He is not an out-and-out striker. Richarlison is not somebody you can play up top with creative wingers like Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus and then expect that you are going to go ahead and win most weeks in the Premier League with that lineup. He's not someone who is going to hold play up, and if he is going to play as a No. 9 in a 4-3-3 formation, then Spurs are going to have to play inverted goal-scoring wingers who can interchange with him.

Actually, some of Richarlison's best work against Brighton came when he had the ball at his feet out wide or was drawing out defenders. It's just that he then had nobody to combine with interiorly, or he would end up isolating himself.

To combat that, Tottenham are going to need to go for a different profile on the left wing or play Richarlison up top with a different striker. Frank can either play Richarlison with Randal Kolo Muani or Dominic Solanke in a two-striker system, or he can experiment with Kolo Muani on the left wing as a support striker in a 4-3-3. In the case of Solanke, he could even make Richarlison the wider forward instead of Kolo Muani.

Either way, Richarlison can't be the lone wolf. We saw against PSG, Burnley, and Manchester City that there is still a very good footballer in the Brazilian international, and he wasn't all awful against Brighton either. But the flaws are not a fluke, rather a warning sign for Frank and Spurs to heed when it comes to actually getting the best out of player who has still not come close to living up to his price tag.

Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the best teams to start the 2025/26 Premier League season, because with the exception of an uncharacteristic anomaly in which they were caught out by Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth, Spurs have literally shut every other team they have faced out, including Villarreal in the Champions League at mid-week.

A huge part of that success is due to the stability new manager Thomas Frank has brought with him, particularly in midfield, and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has been sensational this season, including - and especially - in the loss to Bournemouth.

But the biggest key has always been the center back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, which deserves far more shoutouts as the best duo in world football. It still feels like both men are underappreciated by the masses in world football, and Tottenham manager Thomas Frank went out of his way to praise Romero as not only one of the best in the world, but he also highlighted an area in which Romero gets mistconstrued.

Frank said at the press conference before the Brighton game, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "I rate him super highly. I agree that I think he's one of the best centre-backs in the world. It helps when you've won the World Cup. Copa America and Europa League. The best players, they are performing consistently week in, week out year in, year out. I don't know Cuti that well yet but I've watched him for years. I see a more mature player, I'm not saying the last three months but for longer. He's aggressive when he needs to be and cool and composed when he needs to be.”

People need to stop stereotyping Cristian Romero

It's that last bit that stands out the most. Everyone around Tottenham already knows Romero is world-class and highlights all of his accolades to back that case up, but you'll still hear so many people talking about how he is too aggressive or makes too many mistakes out of ill disicipline.

But it feels like a lot of that is the typical stereotyping of a player from South America, which is hugely unfortunate and a great disservice to what is actually the case on the field. Romero is rarely ever booked these days, and he only actually has two red cards in his Premier League career - none of which came in the 2024/25 season.

Frank also did a great job of highlighting that this change isn't new and was taking place well before his own arrival at Tottenham. Romero is entering his prime and is no longer a young player, which is why the rash decisions or unwise gambles have been cut down. Now, Romero knows the balance and makes smarter split-second decisions, which is normal. He was honestly never a highly ill-disciplined player, but, rather, a normal young defender playing in a tough system with a playing style that had to learn to balance his gifts on the ball with his duties off it.

Tottenham are hunting their third successive win in all competitions, as they travel down to the south coast to face Brighton on Saturday afternoon.

The Amex has not been a happy hunting ground for the Lilywhites in recent years, losing on their two previous visits. Last season, Ange Postecoglou's side swiftly collapsed in the second half, having taken a 2-0 lead before half-time, and contrived to lose 3-2.

Postecoglou's reign then drew to a close with a 4-1 home defeat to Fabian Hürzeler's side, although that game was played in the euphoric aftermath of our Europa League success. It mattered to very few.

Spurs haven't yet sparkled under Frank so far, but the Dane's sturdy defensive foundations mean we've been productive on the results front. We've won three out of four in the Premier League, and were victorious in our opening Champions League outing of the season in midweek.

Brighton, meanwhile, have collected just four league points so far and were beaten by Bournemouth last weekend.

Here's our preview of Saturday's Premier League clash.

Brighton vs Tottenham: Preview, Prediction & Lineups

What time does Brighton vs Tottenham kick off?

Brighton vs Tottenham kicks off on Saturday 20 September at 15:00 BST.

When is kick off? Saturday 20 September, 2025

What time is kick off? 15:00 BST

Where is it played? Amex Stadium, Falmer

Referee:Â Chris Kavanagh

Brighton vs Tottenham head-to-head record (last five games)

How to watch Brighton vs Tottenham on TV & live stream

Brighton team news

The hosts endured a couple of notable injury setbacks in the defeat to Bournemouth, and Hürzeler confirmed on Friday that both Jack Hinshelwood and Maxim De Cuyper are out of Saturday's game. The former is expected to be out for the long haul.

Adam Webster and Solly March are also out for the hosts, but Mats Wieffer and Diego Gomez are available again.

Danny Welbeck, Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter was all influential in Brighton's comeback victory in this fixture last season, and all three should be in Hürzeler's XI on Saturday.

Brighton predicted lineup vs Tottenham: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadıoğlu; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck.

Tottenham team news

Dominic Solanke's comeback is edging closer after he returned to individual training on Thursday at Hotspur Way. He won't be involved on Saturday, but his first minutes of the season could arrive in the cup next week.

There are no fresh concerns from Tuesday's win, and Frank is unlikely to tinker too much from his starting XI that night. However, Destiny Udogie and João Palhinha are strong contenders to return to the manager's team, replacing Djed Spence and Rodrigo Bentancur, respectively.

Randal Kolo Muani is set to make his Premier League debut off the bench, while Xavi Simons should earn his third consecutive start since joining the club.

Tottenham predicted lineup vs Brighton: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Palhinha, Bergvall, Sarr; Kudus, Richarlison, Xavi.

Brighton vs Tottenham score prediction

We either succumb to a bitterly frustrating defeat or suffer in victory at the Amex, so I'll be content with a point here, even if Brighton have struggled somewhat at the start of the new season.

The Seagulls will pose similar problems to Bournemouth in Gameweek 3. Hürzeler's side are the Premier League's most effective pressers through four weeks of the season, and Spurs' iffy build-up will be tested here. This will probably be a game for going long, or utilising Xavi more central to aid ball progression.

I'm not particularly confident, I must say, but the sturdiness with which we've performed thus far means we'll do enough to walk away with something.