Thu 02 December 2021, 10:30
Tottenham HotspurWe’re all set for back-to-back home games in the Premier League - Brentford this evening (7.30pm) followed by Norwich City on Sunday (2pm). First up, N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club commentator Rob Daly take a look at Thomas Frank’s team ahead of our latest London derby tonight...
Rob Daly
“On paper, these are a kind couple of home fixtures in the lead up to the very busy Christmas period. However, we know, based on the last time they came to Spurs, that anything can happen - Norwich won in the FA Cup (on penalties, March, 2019) and Brentford gave us a very good game in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last season (we won 2-0). I was very impressed with Brentford that night. We saw the Brentford team back then, and certainly when they were promoted from the Championship last season, they were predominantly a possession-based side. There has been a change in how they play, an acknowledgement really from Thomas Frank that you need to adapt your playing style for the Premier League. They are much more direct and will look to hit striker Ivan Toney from the back, bypassing midfield a little. That will mean potentially a busy evening for our three central defenders. Enough on Brentford though. In terms of Spurs, hopefully the players will feel a little fresher after Burnley was called off, albeit that the squad had to travel up. I’m sure everyone will be hungry to get a result and push up the table. I’m also sure everyone will be right at it from the start. I don’t expect an easy game, I think back to Brentford’s 3-3 draw against Liverpool (25 September) and they were excellent that day, caused Liverpool all sorts of problems, especially in the air. All in all, it should be a good game.”
Ben Haines
“Brentford were very good in the Carabao Cup semi-final last season, incredibly organised, pressed hard. Ivan Toney, of course, is brilliant. Josh Dasilva, now injured, was also good that night, but ended up getting sent off. The thing with Brentford is they have a lot of humility in the way they play. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and it will be a tough test for our back three to combat their physicality and pace. I want to see us continue to build on the style Antonio Conte is implementing. I’d like to see Oliver Skipp back in, we miss him when he’s not playing, that dynamism. The front three also need to gel and it’s particularly important that the wing-backs - Sergio Reguilon or Ryan Sessegnon, Emerson Royal or Matt Doherty, maybe even Japhet Tanganga - develop into those flying wing-backs we saw in Antonio’s teams at Chelsea and Inter. From that point of view, I hope it’s more of the same in terms of how we left off against Leeds last time out in the Premier League, and that the atmosphere is electric in the stadium. We might even benefit from the weekend off, although I appreciate the team still had to travel to Burnley. Hopefully, those extra days’ training means we’re ready for these next two games, which, I believe, look very winnable. Fingers crossed, teams around us will drop points as well.”
