Tottenham star ‘pushing hard’ to travel with team to Brighton as Ange Postecoglou handed welcome boost.
Tottenham return to Premier League action later today with manager Ange Postecoglou looking to continue fine form.
Tottenham will travel to Brighton, who are looking for an immediate response after their brutal defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend. For Spurs, it’s a chance to end a run of games that has seen them get back on track and build on the 3-0 win against a sorry-looking Manchester United side.
Spurs’ boss, fresh from a positive return from Hungary where they beat Ferencvárosi 2-1, provided the team injury update, confirming that Destiny Udogie, who missed the game, would be ready for the trip to Brighton, even though club captain Son Heung-min would not be available.
The Spurs boss admitted his captain was pushing to return but revealed it wasn’t worth risking him, especially given how close the turnaround time is. Postecoglou said: “First things first, last night, all good. Obviously, fairly tired but physically no issues from last night’s game. Then out of the guys who sort of stayed back, Destiny we think will be okay. We have training today and tomorrow, so he has to get through that. Sonny ( Son Heung-min) is unlikely; he’s pushing hard, but I just don’t think the turnaround will be quick enough for him to be available at this stage. And that’s it, the others are kind of long-term.”
Brighton and Tottenham have faced each other 14 times in the Premier League. Spurs have nine wins to Brighton’s four, with just one draw, so manager Postecoglou will be hoping his team can continue what has recently become a winning fixture for them.
However, they will be wary of the fact that the Seagulls won this fixture 4-2 last season, ending a run of two straight defeats at home to Tottenham without scoring.
This is a fixture between two teams that love to play a high line, so it will be interesting to see which manager comes out on top.