Then and Now - Brighton & Hove Albion

We return to Premier League action on Sunday evening as we welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (7.15pm kick-off).

Ahead of the clash in N17, we take a look back at our previous outings against the Seagulls before analysing all the game’s key information and statistics, as well as the pre-match view from our opposition.

Spurs v Brighton – Then

We hold a 100 per cent record against Brighton at home in the Premier League. We have hosted the men from the south coast in the top flight on three occasions since its rebranding in 1992 and in each one of those meetings, we have taken maximum points.

The first of those encounters came in December, 2017, when Serge Aurier scored his first goal for the Club following his move from Paris Saint-Germain the previous summer - and it came in quite unusual fashion. With 40 minutes on the clock at our temporary home of Wembley, the Ivorian had looked to send a cross into a congested penalty area but instead, as he fizzed the ball into the box, it evaded everyone before looping over goalkeeper Mat Ryan to open the scoring. The points were then sealed late on by a rather uncharacteristic near-post header from Heung-Min Son, making it 2-0.

The next time we hosted the south coast side, it was in just our second-ever game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April, 2019. Christian Eriksen was on target on that night with a late strike as we finally broke down a stubborn Seagulls defence to earn a 1-0 win. Then, later on that year, we welcomed Graham Potter’s men on Boxing Day. We went behind in that encounter with Adam Webster heading in Pascal Gross' free-kick late in the first half but, we rallied together in the second period to come back and take three well-deserved points. Harry Kane volleyed us level just eight minutes after the break before a bit of festive magic from Dele turned the game in our favour with 18 minutes remaining.

In fact, we have now won six consecutive home meetings with Brighton in a run stretching back to the 1980s. In our history, we have lost just one of our 16 home matches with the Seagulls. Meanwhile, Potter's men have lost just once in their last 10 away games in the league - a run that stretches back to January.

Last 5 meetings

26 December, 2019 – Spurs 2-1 Brighton – Premier League
5 October, 2019 – Brighton 3-0 Spurs – Premier League
23 April, 2019 – Spurs 1-0 Brighton – Premier League
22 September, 2018 – Brighton 1-2 Spurs – Premier League
17 April, 2018 – Brighton 1-1 Spurs – Premier League

Spurs v Brighton – Now

It has been a slow start to the season for Brighton. One win and two draws from their opening half-a-dozen games has left the Seagulls hovering over the relegation places. Suffering defeat on the opening day to Chelsea, they quickly responded with a 3-0 triumph over Newcastle United. Yet, that win was then followed by back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Everton before consecutive 1-1 draws with Crystal Palace and West Brom.

While positive results have been hard to find for Potter’s men, they haven’t been struggling in front of goal in the league as they have found the target in all six of their games so far, scoring 10 in total. And, in this unprecedented start to the season, that is no mean feat with only those sides who currently make up the top six, as well as Chelsea and West Ham, having scored more. However, at the other end of the field, only three teams have conceded more than the Seagulls (12), in Liverpool, West Brom and Fulham (all 14).

“We have to believe that we can win any game - I’ll always maintain that,” Brighton boss Potter explained as he previewed our meeting on Sunday. “The challenge as a club and as a team is having the humility to understand the competition that we are in.

“The players are fantastic, we have one of the youngest groups in the league and are going through a process of trying to establish ourselves in the most difficult league in the world. We have to understand that every game is one we have to fight and do our best in and always respect the opponent.”

We head into our meeting with Brighton in strong form in the Premier League. With 16 goals in the bag - the highest return in the league - and just one defeat from our opening six outings, there has certainly been encouraging signs for us in the early stages of the campaign. Not to mention that, ahead of match week seven, our 11 points earned from a possible 18 so far has left us within touching distance of top spot.

However, one notable blot on our copybook in the Premier League has been our home form. So far this campaign, we have not won at home in the competition in three attempts - we haven’t gone four consecutive games without a home league win since December, 2013, and we haven’t failed to win any of our opening four home league games of a season since 2008/09.

Captain Hugo Lloris admits that recent home results have been a point of frustration for the squad but he is adamant that ‘everything possible’ will be done by the team on Sunday to make sure victory is secured.

“Our only thought is Brighton and to try to do everything possible to get the first home win in the Premier League,” Hugo stated off the back of Thursday night’s 1-0 Europa League defeat to Royal Antwerp.

"After the last two home games in the league (draws with Newcastle and West Ham) there was a lot of frustration, so after this defeat, it makes this game even more special, so let’s be sure we’re ready.”