Football London

Brighton score

Hinshelwood scores again. Porro steps away from him and Gray doesn't get across to cover in time, leaving the Brighton man time to backheel the ball into the net as the ball falls his way from a corner.

Big chance

Should have been another Spurs goal there as Tel raced down the left flank and pulled the ball across the box but Johnson scuffed his shot wide.

Brighton score

Bit of a mess from a corner as the ball hits Solanke and bounces perfectly for Hinshelwood to smash into the roof of the net. 1-1.

Save

Should have been 2-0 to Spurs. Great break from Bentancur. He eventually finds Porro who feeds Tel and the Frenchman shoots only for Verbruggen to make a good save.

Pre-match vibes

Here's a look at the incredible atmosphere inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium today.

There was a flag on every seat and the supporters certainly made the most of it.

Just under 15 minutes until kick-off

There's a good atmosphere building inside the stadium. There's a real party mood and hopefully the players feed into that. Son and Madders, who are by the side of the pitch, were just shown on the big screen here at the stadium and got a great ovation from the crowd. Shakira's Waka Wake is playing and Maddison has a little dance.

Thoughts, Spurs fans?

So, how do we feel now we've seen the Spurs lineup?

It's a very strong team from Ange Postecoglou, with only three changes from the team that started the Europa League final!

What condition the players are actually in, we will soon see!

Team news

The teams are in for today's clash and Ange Postecoglou has had to make some important decisions, given everything that has happened in the last few days.

League positions

Tottenham go into today's final game of the season in 17th place in the league table.

However, they can finish the season in 14th if they win and other results go their way.

Winning, against a Brighton side looking to try and claim a European spot, depending on results going their way, after days of partying, however, may prove difficult.

Levy talks

It's the final game of the season and as is customary, chairman Daniel Levy has delivered an end of season message to the supporters in his programme notes for the match.

It's a very celebratory message, but there is one key thing missing from the message that fans are desperate to find out.

Read his message here.

May the odds be ever in your favour

Tottenham are at home and normally you'd expect them to be favourites to win.

But this has been a strange season and the players have been out celebrating their Europa League success.

So the odds are actually in Brighton's favour.

Grosvenor Sport match odds

Tottenham Hotspur 18/5

Draw 7/2

Brighton and Hove Albion 8/13

Predicted team

It's tough to know how Ange Postecoglou will go with his team selection for today's match.

The squad partied in Spain and parited in London before another party with the open-top bus parade on Friday...it's going to depend on who's in a physically fit state to play.

Here's our go at predicting the starting XI.

The reverse

I think most of us would rather forget the reverse fixture between these two teams.

Tottenham were in cruise control at the Amex Stadium, leading 2-0 at half-time, only to turn in an atrocious second half display to lose 3-2.

There could be goals today, with Spurs having spent the last week celebrating their Europa League triumph and Brighton desperate for the points in their outside quest for European football next season.

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to live coverage of Tottenham's final game of the Premier League campaign.

None of us will be sorry to see the back of this domestic season, but there will be a carnival atmosphere inside the stadium today after the Europa League winning exploits of midweek.

Who's looking forward to seeing the trophy again?

Tottenham Hotspur still have one match to go after their Europa League celebrations and Ange Postecoglou has picked his final team of the season as Brighton come to town in the Premier League.

Spurs have celebrated their triumph in Bilbao against Manchester United long and hard over the past few days, not only on the night of the final, but also the next evening and the trophy parade in front of 220,000 Tottenham fans lining the streets of N17 on Friday. Postecoglou has had to decide which of his players are in a state ready to play a Premier League match against a Brighton side pushing for a European spot themselves.

Postecoglou had already ruled out Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min with toe and foot problems respectively while Yves Bissouma was 50/50 with a knock, but the midfielder does make the bench.

Postecoglou made only three changes to the side that started the Europa League final. Kevin Danso starts at centre-back alongside Micky van de Ven in the absence of the injured Romero. Archie Gray comes into midfield for Bissouma and Mathys Tel comes in for Richarlison in attack.

Here's the Spurs team and subs:

Ange Postecoglou has delivered his final message of the season to the Tottenham Hotspur supporters after a campaign in which he brought the club silverware.

Postecoglou delivered Spurs their first European trophy in 41 years as they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final, sparking amazing scenes on the pitch in Bilbao on Wednesday night and then more than 150,000 fans filling the streets of Tottenham on Friday as the team paraded the trophy on an open-topped bus through N17.

Here's the Tottenham head coach's message to the supporters in his final programme notes ahead of the match against Brighton on Sunday in the Premier League.

"Europa League winners. Champions of Europe. Let that sink in for a minute. It sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t It? I'm writing these notes the day after our historic victory over Manchester United in Bilbao," said the Australian.

"Brennan's first half goal was enough to win the game for us and it was an outstanding team performance from back to front - full of character, grit, determination and quality. The scenes that greeted the full-time whistle - and went long into the night ~ will remain forever etched in my memory.

"To see what it meant to the tens of thousands of you packed inside the Estadio de San Mames, and knowing there were hundreds of thousands more watching - in the Bilbao fan zone, at our stadium and tuning in around the world - experiencing exactly the same emotions, shows what a huge achievement it is and a truly special club we represent.

"I've often spoken about my pride in this group of players and staff, especially during testing times - of which there have been plenty this season.

"I didn’t think it was possible, however my love and admiration for them has grown in recent weeks with their drive and commitment to achieve the success that everyone wanted. Their reward is playing in next year’s Champions League and that is something they fully deserve.

"Today is our final Premier League fixture of the season and I should like to welcome Fabian Hurzeler, his players, staff and everyone associated with Brighton & Hove Albion. Fabian has had an impressive first campaign in the Premier League and they come into this match with a chance of qualifying for Europa if results go their way.

"We also want to finish the season on a positive note. We are all too aware that our position in the Premier League and our recent league form is nowhere near where it should be.

"In what has been a challenging season, with some incredible highs and difficult lows, your backing for the team has never wavered. Whether we have been here at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on the road in the Premier League or on a midweek trip in Europe, you've always been there in great numbers, making yourself heard and championing the club.

"Our success would be nothing without you and I’m delighted that we had the opportunity to share it with you at our trophy parade on Friday. Have a great summer and Come on you Spurs!"

It is the end of the Premier League season on Sunday. A wretched campaign for Spurs will come to a close at home to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But while things have been pretty abysmal in the league, there will be a party atmosphere in N17 after Spurs clinched the Europa League trophy on Wednesday.

There was a parade in front of hundreds of thousands of fans down the High Road on Friday, with the trophy - the club's first in 17 years - set to be on display ahead of kick-off against the Seagulls.

The supporters will gladly wave goodbye to this domestic campaign, with Spurs likely to finish the season in 17th place and just one position above the relegation zone, unless they pick up a final day win and other results go their way.

But as well as waving goodbye to the season, the Lilywhite fans could be saying good bye to six players too.

Three players will definitely be involved for the final time on Sunday, one is 99% certain to be departing after Sunday's match, but there is confusion around two of the six who are set to depart.

As things stand, six players are out of contract at the end of June, meaning the Brighton clash will be their last - if they get on the pitch.

Sergio Reguilon, Alfie Whiteman and Fraser Forster are to leave the club, with no suggestion that any will be given a new contract come July.

Timo Werner's loan from RB Leipzig ends and he will be returning to Germany, but there are two players whose futures are up in the air.

Ben Davies' contract with the club also expires this summer, although football.london understands Spurs will trigger a one-year contract extension for the Welshman to stay. However, there was no official confirmation and as this stand he remains out of contract and set to depart following Sunday's match.

Send your messages of congratulations after Tottenham's Europa League triumph here

Then there is Mathys Tel. Signed on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the season in the January transfer window, Spurs do have an option to sign the teenager on a permanent deal.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Ange Postecoglou said: "I guess they're the kind of discussions that we start to need to have. But again, without myself gate-crashing meetings, I need to be invited to them, but we'll assess all those things. Matty's done really well for us. We put him in a real difficult position in that as a young player who hadn't played a lot, probably wasn't fit enough, we just threw him straight in but he's handled it really well.

"I think he's been a real important contributor for us and he'll definitely play tomorrow at some point whether he starts or come off the bench. I'm sure those decisions we'll kind of look into post-season."

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has delivered his annual address to the club's supporters and it does not provide the backing for Ange Postecoglou's future that many of the fanbase had hoped for.

Postecoglou brought Spurs their first trophy in 17 years and first European triumph in 41 years as they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final, sparking wild scenes in Bilbao on Wednesday night and then what was thought to be more than 150,000 fans filling the streets of Tottenham on Friday as the team paraded the trophy through N17.

Postecoglou declared to the Spurs supporters: "I’ll leave you with this: all the best television series, season three is better than season two!"

However, the Australian said on Saturday that he had received no update on his future from the club and now Levy's annual communication to the fans shows no backing for the 59-year-old's future either.

"Dear all, We did it. What an unforgettable night it was in Bilbao as we ended our long wait for glory," it read. "This is a huge moment for the whole club, an historic achievement that sees us lift our first European trophy since 1984.

"This club has been on an incredible journey on and off the pitch since we last won silverware, the League Cup, in 2008 – establishing ourselves as one of the biggest in Europe, moving into our new stadium and experiencing some incredible moments – we knew a trophy was the missing piece.

"We’ve come so close on a number of occasions and never quite got over the line – I have never wavered from the belief that success is just around the corner.

"I’d like to thank Ange and the players for making this incredible achievement possible and thanks to all of our amazing staff – there is so much hard work that goes on behind the scenes and this moment is for everyone to enjoy.

"I’d also like to thank you – the fans – for staying with us and carrying that same belief. I know it’s been hard at times and I have shared in that pain and frustration along the way. But when we all come together, we know we can achieve something special.

"Your support – whether that was in Bilbao, in our own stadium or in pubs and homes around the world – was the driving force behind our team. This is one trophy – our clear ambition as a club has always been long-term, sustained success, competing for top honours every year. We have now tasted success and we are determined to use this as a springboard for more.

"Let’s enjoy this moment as a club together, finish the season strong with a win today and go again next year. Most of all, be proud. Come on you Spurs! Daniel"

Thomas Frank could already have the ideal partner in place at Tottenham should he take over as manager this summer.

Ange Postecoglou ’s side have endured a turbulent Premier League campaign, currently sitting just above the relegation zone with one game left to play. A long-running injury crisis has played a major role in their inconsistent form, but that hasn’t eased the scrutiny on the Australian, with questions over his future continuing to dominate headlines.

Wednesday night’s historic Europa League triumph in Bilbao, where Spurs defeated Manchester United, has further complicated the situation, with opinion divided on whether Postecoglou is the right man to lead the club forward. Ultimately, the decision will rest with chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s hierarchy.

However, if Spurs opt for change, Brentford boss Frank has been heavily linked as a potential successor. He has been in charge at Brentford since 2018, having previously coached in his native Denmark with Brondby and the national youth teams.

He led the Bees to Premier League promotion in 2021 and has kept them comfortably in the top flight, a feat many promoted clubs fail to manage. If Tottenham do pursue Frank, he would already have a key ally behind the scenes in technical director Johan Lange.

Lange, who joined Spurs in 2023 after previous roles at Aston Villa and FC Copenhagen, shares a longstanding history with Frank. The pair, both Danish, worked together during their early coaching days at Lyngby, a club based in the suburbs of Copenhagen.

Some reports in recent months suggest it is, in fact, Lange who is advocating for Frank’s appointment, having remained a strong admirer of his former colleague’s work. According to The Telegraph, who reported in April that Postecoglou could be on his way out of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Frank is among the leading candidates should a change be made.

That said, it remains to be seen whether the Europa League victory will earn Postecoglou a stay of execution heading into next season.

Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham squad will receive a hero's welcome when they return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday following their Europa League title success. Spurs ended 17 years of hurt by triumphing in UEFA's second club competition after a 1-0 win over Manchester United.

The celebrations have been very special since the full-time whistle in Bilbao, with the Tottenham team embarking on a victory parade through the streets of north London on Friday evening. Postecoglou's squad were greeted by tens of thousands of people and the celebrations will continue on Sunday when Brighton & Hove Albion visit N17.

Tottenham will be bidding not to finish the Premier League season in 17th place. They do have the opportunity to finish as high as 14th but that will all be dependent on beating the Seagulls and other results going their way.

In terms of the games that could have a say on their final position in the Premier League, Manchester United host Aston Villa, West Ham travel to Ipswich Town and Wolves welcome Brentford to Molineux.

After their heroics in the San Mames Stadium, Postecoglou is likely to rotate his team and that will give an opportunity to those on the periphery of the starting XI to come in. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the boss did mention that Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min will miss out and there is a possibility Yves Bissouma joins them in the stands.

Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham will wrap up their 2024/25 campaign later today when Brighton & Hove Albion make the trip to north London. It has been a season like no other at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following a year of injuries, extremely mixed results and silverware.

Tottenham's trophy hoodoo finally came to an end on Wednesday evening after they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final in Bilbao. Brennan Johnson was the hero on the night with a first-half goal as Postecoglou ensured his outstanding record of winning silverware in his second season at a club continued.

All connected with Tottenham have been soaking in the triumph ever since the full-time whistle sounded at the San Mames Stadium. Friday evening saw the team welcomed back with a trophy parade through north London as ten of thousands of fans turned up.

Tottenham will be back at their home ground on Sunday afternoon as they host Brighton & Hove Albion in their final Premier League game of the term. As things stand, the Lilywhites are 17th in the league table but they can finish as high as 14th if results go their way.

Manchester United, who are one place above Spurs, host Aston Villa, West Ham in 15th travel to relegated Ipswich Town and 14th-place Wolves welcome Brentford to Molineux. Considering the team's European success this week and banishing their wretched run without a trophy for good, the result of the Brighton game may be the last thing on Tottenham fans' mind right now.

The game is important in terms of finances, though, due to Premier League merit payments, which are derived from the domestic and international broadcast rights paid. These are distributed on a sliding scale from 1st to 20th and the difference in prize money was roughly around £2.8million last season.

That meant Sheffield United received £2.8million for finishing bottom of the Premier League table in 2023/24 and Spurs in fifth secured £45.1million. Tottenham will see a big drop in merit payments for this season due to their lowly position in the Premier League table but it is worth remembering that they have brought in a large sum from their Europa League success.

Tottenham will earn £11.3million if they are to finish 17th in the standings come the full-time whistle on Sunday, with £19.7million the total if results go in their favour and they come 14th. Having already got one over Manchester United this week after beating them in the Europa League final, Postecoglou's side do have the chance to deliver another blow - this time financial - to the Red Devils if they leapfrog them in the league table.

One point currently separates the sides heading into the final day, with Tottenham's superior goal difference meaning a point would be enough to finish above them if United are to lose to Aston Villa. Neither team will want to finish 17th but Tottenham at least have the Europa League trophy safely in their possession now to ensure a rather up-and-down season has finished on a positive note.

Ange Postecoglou has revealed he will never rewatch Tottenham's Europa League final triumph over Manchester United. Brennan Johnson's first-half goal in Bilbao ensured it was a night to remember for the Lilywhites as they brought an end to their 17-year trophy wait.

Tottenham fans will have undoubtedly watched Johnson's goal back countless times since Wednesday evening, with the incredible victory parade likely to be put on repeat quite a few times over the coming months. For Postecoglou, however, he is not someone who will do that as he would prefer to have his memories of the night rather than watch the game back and take the enjoyment out of it by picking apart his team's performance.

"No, I've always done that my sort of whole career. Unless I get drawn into it when people start talking to me about it, I don't think about it a lot," he said when he asked if he's had time to reflect on his journey over the past couple of days. "When I get to the end of my career I'll have more time to understand how I ended up in this place from where I started.

"I tend to leave the moments in perfect periods of time. I'll never rewatch Bilbao. I've never really rewatched any significant game I've won in my career because if I do I'll start picking holes into the performance and I don't want to do that.

"It's the perfect memory for me. I don't care if people say we didn't play well. It doesn't bother me. For me, that night will stay in my memory forever as a perfect night. Then I kind of leave that in it's rightful place and move on to what the next thing is.

"At some point, if you chart the course of my last sort of 26 years and beyond from where I started, it's fair to say it's a pretty rare journey I have been on and I feel pretty lucky to have been on it."

Johnson is a player who has been on his own journey. From receiving abuse from supporters earlier in the season, the ex-Nottingham Forest ace wrote his name into the history books with the winning goal in the Europa League final.

"Brennan is kind of indicative of what I’ve been trying to build here," said Postecoglou. "It’s about people of character, people of resilience and he hasn’t had it easy.

"It’s been surprising to me because his contribution has been significant since we signed him. You stack up his record since he’s been here to any other winger apart from Mo [Salah], who is a freak, and Brennan’s stands up. Goals and assists, that is what you need from attacking players and not just in any game, but the big games as well.

"It’s a credit to him and again, fair to say he’s one of the ones who has enjoyed himself in the last couple of days, but rightly so. And I’m hoping him doing that on such a big stage, he comes back next year as a mentality monster of I know what it takes to win, this is what I want again and that feeds onto everyone else. That is what you hope Wednesday night creates. That all these guys have got a taste of it now and want more of it."

Postecoglou admitted in his post-match press conference that he will go on holiday with his family on Monday, a matter of hours after Tottenham's final game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion. So what exactly does a Postecoglou holiday look like?

"Just family time and finding some quiet spot. Yeah, that’s got some water and a sun lounger and not too much movement, that will do me," he revealed. "Just mainly family time and like I said, time to reflect, not just for myself, but, you know, for my wife, for my kids. Just pretty chilled and laid back.

"It's one of those things where you probably don't realise till you're stopped how tired you are, you know, physically and emotionally and I'm sure that'll hit me Monday morning."

A holiday departure on Monday maybe doesn't leave a lot of times for talks with the club but Postecoglou will be able to relax even if his long-term future still remains up in the air.

"Don't worry about that. I'm good at relaxing mate," said the boss. "Come Monday, I won't have a care in the world. I won't have a care in the world.

"But, I assume I'll have an indication at some point. Only because, you know, there's some serious planning to do more than anything else. I won't have any problem switching off."

Following a season of ups and downs in north London, Postecoglou and his coaching staff have learnt a number of lessons across the 2024/25 campaign. A different approach looks in order come the start of pre-season, including bringing in some experienced players to supplement a very youthful squad.

“Yeah look you learn from every season," admitted the Australian. "I think looking back at our pre-season last year, I don’t think it was ideal and there were certain things we needed to do differently and certainly needed to design differently for the coming year.

"How we get our guys ready for what is going to be the biggest challenge of Premier League and Champions League football, we know it is a massive challenge, so how do we prepare our players? I think our players will be better equipped.

"You know we started the season and people forget we signed Dom, who has been unbelievable for us but then we signed three teenagers. They weren’t ready for what was ahead. They’ve been unbelievable, obviously Wilson has missed a lot of the season but Lucas and Archie have been unbelievable.

"We signed three teenagers but next year they are not going to be teenagers, they are more than ready and will be in a better space straight away. That is the other lesson learned, that we can’t and I don’t think anyway, that would be my direction that you need to now bring in some experience for this group in terms of our recruiting.

"So, you learn lessons from that and I’ve said all along, I have still felt there has been growth this year and we’ll be much better placed at the beginning of next year to tackle what is ahead than we were at the start of this one."

The scenes from Tottenham's victory parade will forever be etched into the memory of Postecoglou, his coaching staff, playing squad and all connected with the club. Postecoglou knows he is in charge of a "massive club" but now he wants to "make it bigger than ever".

“Yeah, look I was overwhelmed by the sea of people and every demographic you can think of. There were grown men crying, women, girls and boys just so ecstatic that you feel irrespective of what is happening in their lives at the moment, they were all just so joyous," he said.

"When you see the sheer magnitude of the numbers, you realise it is a massive club. I had a sense of that before I joined but I guess even for the club itself, it reaffirms that missing piece of success and what it can do to galvanise a supporter base and really show the size of the club. It’s fair to say it is a massive club and the opportunity now is to make it bigger than ever."

Next season's Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Given Postecoglou's close connection with the Hungarian great, the boss is happy for Tottenham to dream of another European final.

“Yeah, dream on. Why not, why not," he admitted. "That is the beauty of football, you’ve got to dream.”

Tottenham Hotspur might well have already dropped a major team news hint ahead of their final Premier League game of the season against Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou's side are still in celebration mode following Wednesday night's historic Europa League triumph over Manchester United, a victory that ended the Lilywhites' 17-year wait for silverware. An open-top bus parade took place outside the stadium on Friday evening, with festivities continuing into the weekend ahead of their clash with the Seagulls.

The manager now faces some key selection decisions before kick-off - and clues may already be emerging from training. On Friday, the club shared a series of training photos on social media, featuring Ben Davies, Kevin Danso, Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Dane Scarlett and Mikey Moore - suggesting they could all be in line for starts.

Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Timo Werner and Lucas Bergvall all remain side-lined owing to injuries, and missed Wednesday's final. Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min have also been ruled out after picking up knocks in Bilbao.

Yves Bissouma sustained a knock during the final, as well, and he will undergo a late fitness test ahead of Sunday's game. Spurs currently sit in 17th spot in the Premier League table - just above the relegation zone - but will hope to leapfrog Manchester United, West Ham and Wolves with a win over Brighton.

Tottenham are already guaranteed a place in next season's Champions League, although it still remains uncertain whether Postecoglou will still be in the dugout by then. "I haven't given it a lot of thought [about my future]," the manager told the media ahead of the Brighton match.

"I refuse to be distracted by anything in terms of the opportunity that was before us, and since the game I just wanted to take the opportunity also to enjoy that as well. I assume at some point somebody will tell me something. If not, then I'm just gonna roll up next year and be a bit like (George) Costanza from Seinfeld. I'll just sit at the desk, get on with my job."