Tottenham Hotspur will endeavour to keep their European hopes alive when they welcome Brentford to North London for a Premier League clash on Saturday lunchtime.
While the hosts have won six of their last eight league matches on home soil, the visitors have suffered defeat in three of their last four games on the road without reply.
Tottenham’s miserable away form continued last weekend as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at fellow European chasers Aston Villa, a result that extended their winless league run on the road to seven matches.
Harry Kane’s converted penalty kick in second-half stoppage time proved inconsequential as goals either side of half time from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz helped Villa complete the league double over a Spurs side that lacked “togetherness” according to interim boss Ryan Mason.
After battling their way into the top four last season, the North Londoners can only finish as high as sixth in the Premier League this term, although that seems a tall order as Brighton & Hove Albion currently occupy that position with an extra point and two games in hand. Spurs could even miss out on European football altogether as Mason’s men in seventh sit level on points with eighth-placed Aston Villa.
Defensive frailties have been a key factor behind Tottenham’s notable dip in form as they have kept only one clean sheet in their last 11 league games, and they have conceded at least twice in six matches during this run.
Spurs also conceded twice in a 2-2 draw against Brentford in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day, but they can at least take some confidence from their home record versus the Bees as they have won each of their last three home meetings by a 2-0 scoreline.
Brentford have secured a top-10 finish in the Premier League for the first time in their history courtesy of a 2-0 home victory over West Ham United last weekend – the Bees’ third league win in their last four games.
Thomas Frank’s side had no issues coping without the presence of top scorer Ivan Toney, as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa both found the net in the first half to help Brentford climb up to ninth in the table, four places and seven points better off than last season with two games still to play.
Indeed, the Bees, who are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League London derbies, still have an outside chance of securing European football for next season, as a victory on Saturday would see them move to within one point of seventh-placed Tottenham heading into their final fixture of the campaign, albeit a home encounter against champions-elect Manchester City.
Brentford’s away form leaves a little to be desired as they have only come out on top in two of their last 10 league matches on the road, although those two victories were recorded in London including a 2-0 success over Chelsea at the end of April.
However, the Bees are winless in four previous meetings against Spurs and have won only one of their last nine encounters either home or away against the North Londoners, securing a 2-0 victory back in March 1948 when the two sides were competing in the second tier.
Tottenham trio Hugo Lloris (hip), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) and Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) are all ruled out for the rest of the season, while Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga are both doubtful after missing the defeat at Aston Villa with knocks.
The potential absence of Dier in particular could see Emerson Royal continue in the back three alongside Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet, but Ben Davies is also an option to start at centre-back if Ivan Perisic is recalled at left wing-back.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp are poised to start together in centre-midfield for the fifth successive game since Mason’s appointment, while two of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison are set to operate in behind top scorer Kane, who scored along with Hojbjerg in the 2-2 draw at Brentford earlier this season.
As for the Bees, talisman Toney has been handed an eight-month suspension from all football activity after breaching FA betting rules, while Christian Norgaard (Achilles), Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee), Thomas Strakosha (calf) remain sidelined through injury.
Frank will consider switching to a back three, which could see either Mathias Jorgensen or Kristoffer Ajer recalled to join Ben Mee and Ethan Pinnock at centre-back, with Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry operating as wing-backs.
Either Josh Dasilva and Frank Onyeka may be handed a start in centre-midfield alongside Mathias Jensen and Vitaly Janelt, while Mbeumo and Wissa are expected to continue in attack in the absence of Toney, with Kevin Schade potentially making way should Frank decide to select an extra defender.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Davies; Kulusevski, Son; Kane
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Zanka, Mee, Pinnock; Hickey, Onyeka, Jensen, Janelt, Henry; Mbeumo, Wissa
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Brentford
With both Brentford and Aston Villa nipping at their heels in the race for a top-seven finish, Tottenham can ill-afford to drop any more points if they wish to secure European football for next season.
However, the Bees admirably coped without their talisman Toney last time out, and although Spurs have their own goal machine in Kane, we can see the visitors frustrating the hosts and earning a hard-fought point in the capital.
