Key events
Teams!
Brentford (4-2-3-1): Valdimarsson; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis=Potter; Norgaard Janelt; Mbuemo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa. Subs: Eyestone, Pinnock, Jensen, Carvalho, Mee, Yarmoliuk, Konak, Maghoma, Kayode.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): (Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Gray, Davies, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Kukusevski; Moore, Richarlison, Son. Subs: Austin, Reguilon, Hardy, Cassanova, Sarr, Bergvall, Lluesi, Ajayi, Scarlett.
Referee: Jared Gillett (Gold Coast, Australia)
Preamble
This could be Tottenham’s greatest season in nearly 65 years. They’re a goal up on Liverpool going into Thursday’s League Cup semi-final second leg, with the even more success-averse Newcastle a likely final opponent, and they’re into the last 16 of the Europa League, second favourites behind the worst Manchester United team in recent memory. Exciting times for Daniel Levy’s intrepid Lillywhites!
Er, or not. They’re also16th in the table having lost eight of their last 10 league games, most recently to Leicester and Everton, their brash, larrikin manager, Ange Postecoglou, seemingly a step away from scrawling the team on the dressing room wall in his own tears. If England’s cricketers could only send their Aussie counterparts to N17 for a few months, they might just have a chance of winning the Ashes.
So the last thing Spurs need this afternoon is a trip to Brentford. Thomas Frank’s men have the league’s fourth-best home record having scored the most goals, pose as physical a challenge as any side in the division, and their strikers, excellent and in form, will more than fancy a look at Postecoglou’s makeshift back five.
Of course, Spurs still have the attacking firepower to seize any game – just ask Manchester City – and we can be sure that, for marginally better or for absolute worst, they’ll turn up at the Gtech to do the same stuff they always do. However much he might enjoy the frisson of power and the evidence says it’s a lot, Levy won’t want to fire yet another failed manager appointed by him, but two defeats this week and – given that firing himself doesn’t appear to be an option – he may feel he’s no choice but to act.
Kick-off: 2pm GMT
