BBC football pundit Mark Lawrenson has shared his prediction ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League match against Brighton.
Jose Mourinho’s side return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Boxing Day looking to put the disappointing 2-0 defeat to rivals Chelsea behind them and kick-start their push for a top four finish.
The loss against Chelsea means that Mourinho’s former employers currently hold a six-point advantage over Spurs in the Premier League table.
Lawrenson expects Spurs to bounce back from the defeat with a comfortable win and clean sheet but has also emphasised the fact that Mourinho needs to address his midfield problems.
The Portuguese decided to start with Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier in the middle of the park on Sunday with the largely ineffective Dier being replaced at half time by Christian Eriksen.
He told BBC Sport: “Tottenham were out-thought tactically by Chelsea on Sunday, could not get control of the game in midfield and finished up well beaten.
“Brighton, meanwhile, became Sheffield United’s latest victims on the road, and have now won only one of their past seven matches.
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“It is Spurs who I am expecting to see a response from here, but Jose Mourinho will have to sort his midfield out for that to happen.”
Opinion
Lawrenson is right to mention our midfield, Chelsea dominated us in the middle of the park and one or both of Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele need to come back into the starting eleven to allow Spurs to dictate the tempo of the match.
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