Son (centre) with Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski in training. — Reuters
SEPTEMBER has truly been a month to forget for Brighton and Hove Albion.
Managing only to pick up two points from three league matches, including a humbling 4-2 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, the Seagulls will surely be hoping for a quick reset and restart their season.
Since defeating Manchester United 2-1 in August, Fabian Huerzeler’s team had been unable to kick on from there, with draws against Arsenal, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest.
And prior to their trip to Stamford Bridge last week, Brighton had also been unbeaten.
The defeat to the Blues would surely be a wake-up call for Huerzeler’s side to perform and play better when they host Tottenham Hotspurs at the American Express Stadium this weekend.
The German had an entire week to prepare his team to take on Ange Postecoglou’s side, with a thrilling match-up on the cards.
Brighton, under Huerzeler, are an entertaining team that are not afraid to go toe-to-toe with anyone. They are an attacking side, led by the experienced Danny Welbeck who has three league goals and an assist already.
Another threat for Spurs to be aware of would be Kaoru Mitoma, who is a guileful dribbler and has scored one goal and has two assists. Both have been ever-present in the starting 11 and look to retain their spots.
Georginio Rutter, who scored one of the two goals last week against Chelsea, should also be retained in the starting line-up against Spurs.
Waiting in the wings are Simon Adingra and Yankuba Minteh, both who are fleet-footed and skillful dribblers.
Minteh, a summer signing from Newcastle United in the summer, scored 10 goals for Feyenoord while on loan in the Eredivisie last season.
The 20-year-old Gambian international, who has two assists so far, had been the player to watch but seems to have lost his place to Rutter in the last two league matches.
While Brighton’s attack has been wonderful to watch, their defensive frailties − coupled with individual mistakes − have been their downfall in recent matches.
Huerzeler will need to work on cutting out these issues to ensure they can take on an aggressive Tottenham side.
Postecoglou, meanwhile, will hope that his side will not be feeling lethargic after their Europa League match against Hungarian side Ferencvárosi Torna Club in midweek.
Spurs would surely still be feeling good after their 3-0 win over Man Utd last week.
Apart from Richarlison and summer-signing Wilson Odobert being the long-term injury concerns, Big Ange would still have a good squad to work with.
Son Heung-min, who sat out the Red Devils game with a fitness issue, could be recalled to the starting XI.
Dominic Solanke, who scored in two consecutive matches, should also be retained as the sole striker.
After their 4-0 win over SK Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League in midweek, Manchester City will look to turn their fortunes around and to get back to winning ways against sixth-placed Fulham.
After back-to-back league draws against Arsenal and Newcastle, Pep Guardiola will surely be aiming for all three points against Fulham, who are on a five-game unbeaten run.
The Citizen’s recent blip may be partially attributed to the loss of the injured Rodri, but they will surely have enough in the tank to see the Cottagers off this weekend.
