Chris Sutton expects Tottenham Hotspur to edge out Brighton on Saturday, with the pundit opining that the return of Son Heung-min would be a huge boost to Ange Postecoglou’s men.
Spurs will be keen to bounce back and return to winning ways tomorrow after throwing away two points in the dying stages of the clash at Goodison Park a week ago.
Son and Yves Bissouma have rejoined the squad following Mali’s and South Korea’s eliminations from the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup respectively.
Ange Postecoglou thus has nearly a fully fit squad to choose from and for the first time in a long time, the Australian potentially has several positive selection headaches.
While the Seagulls have blown a bit hot and cold over the last couple of months, they come into Saturday’s clash on a high, having thrashed Crystal Palace 4-1 at home.
Will Tottenham earn another three points against Brighton?
Sutton believes that Tottenham will have enough at home to overcome Roberto De Zerbi’s men, especially given the players that the Lilywhites now have back in action.
The former Celtic striker told BBC Sport: “Son Heung-min is back, or at least he was due to train with Tottenham on Thursday after South Korea’s Asian Cup exit. If he plays in this game, it will be a huge lift for Spurs.
“Richarlison cannot stop scoring and James Maddison is just starting to find some rhythm with Tottenham too, but the problem I have with predicting this game is I just don’t know which Brighton team is going to turn up.
“Roberto de Zerbi’s side were comfortable winners in the reverse fixture at Amex Stadium earlier in the season but they have been very inconsistent of late. Will we see the Seagulls side who lost 4-0 at Luton, or the one that recovered and demolished Crystal Palace a week later?
“I cannot see how this game won’t be high scoring and I am tempted to go for a draw, but I am going to say Spurs will find a way to nick the points and just about stay in the title race.”
Prediction: 3-2
Spurs Web Opinion
Although Son will have had four days of rest since playing for South Korea on Tuesday against Jordan, the forward will have some fatigue due to the travelling and needing to adjust back to the UK time zone.
I would not be surprised if Postecoglou decides to leave the 31-year-old on the bench for tomorrow’s clash but one would certainly not put it against the Spurs captain to get on the scoresheet even if he comes on as a substitute.
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