Ben & Rob's preview - Brentford

After a roller coaster week, N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club Commentator Rob Daly set their sights on our first visit to the Brentford Community Stadium and another key clash against the in-form Bees.

Take it away, chaps!

State of play

We lost against Brighton, Arsenal then lost at Southampton, United won then lost, West Ham lost, but then Arsenal beat Chelsea! After all that, we're still fourth...

Ben: "For all of us Spurs fans things are slightly different than this time last week in terms of the broader picture - but when you look at things in a more narrow sense and just look at us, the task remains the same. Better Arsenal, West Ham and United's results and that means we win the race for fourth spot which is completely within our power. Boring though it sounds, it's one game at a time and let's constantly remind ourselves that we still are in the top three for form in the league - one thing it's worth noting is that another team with the same sort of form... is Brentford."

Rob: "If offered 19 points from the previous eight games before playing them, you’d have taken it all day long. However, it’s hard to keep perspective after a home defeat, especially to a Brighton team that hasn’t been in great form in 2022. I think we can all agree it was an off-day - and unless you’re City or Liverpool right now, that can happen. Even Chelsea have had surprising results recently, including the home losses to Brentford and Arsenal. The Brighton loss has added pressure, but Spurs are still fourth in the table."

Bees buzzing

Brentford come into the weekend up to 12th place in the table thanks to a run of five wins in six, beating Chelsea and West Ham along the way...

Rob: "39 points and safe - what a season for Brentford! Their recent form has pulled them away from trouble... and they needed those victories over Norwich, Burnley, Chelsea, West Ham and Watford! They’d gone on a run of eight defeats in nine in the Premier League - you did wonder if the bubble had burst and they’d be dragged in to the relegation fight. But credit to Thomas Frank for turning things around. Ivan Toney is one of the top scorers in the Premier League now with 12 goals, Ethan Pinnock’s long-throws will be a menace and they’ll fight to the end, as they showed with that 95th-minute winner at Vicarage Road last weekend. A first trip to Brentford’s new stadium for Spurs fans too!"

Ben: "Brentford have been a really great watch this season. They've done things the right way since the first day of the season. They create an incredible atmosphere at the Brentford Community Stadium because of a hybrid between that wide-eyed optimism that a lot of newly-promoted teams have, alongside a ego free and attractive playing style. They're not afraid to mix things up or be more direct when they play against sides that dominate the ball, but also the energy they play with is so impressive. Christian Eriksen's impact get's a lot of praise and rightly so - he's been wonderful for Brentford, but Bryan Mbuemo has been outstanding too, Toney is a real threat and players like Vitaly Janelt and Christian Norgaard do so much work that goes unnoticed to keep them ticking."

'Erik-sen-sen-sen...'

What a moment... we come up against Christian Eriksen for the first time not only since leaving us in January, 2020, but also following his amazing recovery after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch playing for Denmark against Finland in Euro 2020 last summer...

Rob: "Christian Eriksen’s return has been the feel good story of the season. I don’t think any of us knew what to expect from his career after his cardiac arrest and just hoped he’d be healthy again. Who knew that within roughly nine months he’d back and scoring at Stamford Bridge! Also, Brentford’s recent form is directly linked to Eriksen’s integration into the starting XI. They’ve had five wins in their last six - and Eriksen has started every one of those victories, missing the Leicester defeat in that run through COVID - two assists to his name too. The away-end reception will be tremendous and I can’t wait to see how he’s received when he next plays at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium."

Ben: "I'm so excited to watch Christian play again even though it's against us. It's one of the most beautiful stories in football history. We were all affected so deeply by last summer at the club - and yet, as Rob says, nine months later we'll get a chance to watch Christian again at the peak of his powers, with that wonderful technique of his. Have an amazing afternoon Christian - but if you could not be too elite that would be great! I can't wait to hear, 'ERRRRRIIKKKKSONSONSON he's our number 23' in the away end!"