Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson believes that Tottenham Hotspur will continue their poor run of form in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw with Brighton this weekend.
Spurs have suffered three defeats on the bounce – both in the league and the Champions League – and Lawrenson believes that they will not be able to find a way through a team who are notorious for being this season’s “comeback kings.”
He destroyed the Lilywhites’ 2-1 loss to Liverpool last weekend, branding their home showing as tactically “naive”, as well as claiming that the Reds could have put three or four past them at Wembley.
“Tottenham are just getting bashed by everyone at the moment, although I do think losing to Liverpool last week was a bigger blow than their defeat at Inter Milan,” he told BBC Sport.
“Tactically, Spurs were naive at Wembley and the Reds could have been three or four goals up in the first half. Going to Brighton will be a different test, but this is definitely not an easy game.”
OPINION
It is hard not to agree with Lawrenson in his prediction for Tottenham here. They are obviously low on confidence after their 2-1 loss to Inter Milan in the Champions League, and they have also contended with a 2-1 loss to Liverpool last weekend. Like Lawrenson said, this will be a different test for them, but it will by no means be an easy game for them, especially in the form that they are currently in. Brighton are notorious for getting positive results against bigger teams – take the 3-2 win over Manchester United for instance – so Spurs will have to tread carefully when they visit the Amex on Saturday. He has also delivered a damning verdict on their defeat to Liverpool the other week, claiming that they could have conceded three or four goals in the first half because they were so “naive.” Lawrenson is not far wrong here – defensively, they were all over the place, and they were lucky that Liverpool did not take more advantage. They will have to be on their A-game against Brighton, as this match is most certainly a must-win for them.