The Daly Brief | Brighton vs Spurs, Premier League | OneFootball

"Brighton appear to have recruited smartly again with Maxim De Cuyper already establishing himself at full-back (although he’s a doubt for the weekend) - while central midfielder Carlos Baleba stayed despite strong interest. A quick look at their bench last week, despite the 2-1 loss to Bournemouth, shows their available quality..."

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Brighton's busy window...

It’s been another active summer of transfers, in and out of the club, for Brighton. Chelsea, again, have come for some of their top talent with Joao Pedro and Facundo Buonanotte (loan) moving to Stamford Bridge. But even Simon Adingra (Sunderland), Pervis Estupinian (AC Milan) and Julio Enciso (Strasbourg) have left on permanent deals. They appear to have recruited smartly again with Belgium international Maxim De Cuyper already establishing himself at full-back (although he’s a doubt for the weekend) - while central midfielder Carlos Baleba stayed despite strong interest. The fact they can allow players like Evan Ferguson (Roma), Igor Julio (West Ham) and Matt O’Riley (Marseille) to head out on loan is a testament to their squad strength.

Super subs...

So far, Brighton have won only one of their four Premier League games, but that was the superb comeback victory over Manchester City. “Sometimes football isn’t about tactics - it’s about energy, it’s about intensity,” explained head coach Fabian Hurzeler, after his quadruple substitution just past the hour mark completely changed the match’s momentum. Brajan Gruda, James Milner, Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari all came on with the Seagulls 1-0 down, with Milner levelling from the spot before Gruda’s winner at the death. A quick look at their bench last week, despite the 2-1 loss to Bournemouth, shows their available quality with Baleba amongst the subs. Hurzeler has been set on his 4-2-3-1 formation so far, and his team were accused of being wasteful with chances in a 2-0 defeat at Everton last month.

Hinshelwood out...

Jack Hinshelwood will miss this weekend’s game, after going off in last Saturday’s defeat at the Vitality. Hurzeler explained the academy product will be, 'out for a long time'. "He has a ligament injury in his ankle, it happened in a very unlucky way, but that's football.” It’s a bitter blow - not only because of his quality and versatility - but his record against Spurs is impressive. Hinshelwood scored in the December 2023 win over Ange Postecoglou’s side and found the net twice on last season’s final day 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - a record that reads three in three games!

Frank decision...

Thomas Frank only made a couple of changes to his starting XI for the midweek encounter with Villarreal, bringing in Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison. Despite the opportunity to give some players crucial minutes midweek against Doncaster, one imagines, given the draining nature of Tuesday night, that there will be some rotation at the AMEX. Randall Kolo Muani made his debut from the bench at centre-forward in the Champions League - could he get a look in up front for Spurs’ Brazilian number 9, especially with Dominic Solanke still not fit to play? Destiny Udogie might be pushing for a start as well, having made some substitute appearances after his injury, while Joao Palhinha may come back into the XI.

Scoring and not conceding...

As well as the shut-out against Villarreal in the Champions League, Spurs have kept three clean sheets in four league games so far. That’s more than in the entire second half of last season (two) - a notable improvement. It’s worth noting that Thomas Frank’s side are outperforming their xG (8 goals from 4.9 expected goals) and xG against (1 goal conceded with a xGA value of 4.7) currently. But even to the eye test, Spurs look so solid - it’s been an extremely encouraging start to the season at both ends of the pitch.