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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 19
Brighton & Hove Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
American Express Stadium
Brighton and Hove, England
Thursday, 28 December 2023
Kick-off is at 19h30
Tottenham will look to keep the momentum going when they make the short trip to the south coast to face Brighton at the Amex on Thursday, December 28.
Spurs appear to have recovered from a mini slump in November and the opening week of December, which saw them pick up just one point from five matches following four defeats and a draw.
However, a 2-1 triumph over Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 23 made it three wins on the spin for Ange Postecoglou's side and took them back into the top four, two points clear of Manchester City (5th).
They gained ground on the top three after league leaders Arsenal drew 1-1 with Liverpool (2nd) at Anfield, while Aston Villa (3rd) were held to a 1-1 draw by rock-bottom Sheffield United at Villa Park, with just four points separating the top-four clubs.
Suggested photo: Pascal Gross of Brighton
The Seagulls' poor run of form continued with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as they slipped down to ninth place after going winless in their last three outings.
Roberto De Zerbi's side still have a five-point cushion to Chelsea (10th), Wolves (11th) and Bournemouth (12th), but they failed to capitalise on defeats for Manchester United (8th) and Newcastle (7th).
Pascal Gross is enjoying a fine campaign on the south coast despite Albion's recent struggles and provided an assist for Danny Welbeck's equaliser with a dangerous cross from the right. The German midfielder has created six goals for his team-mates and is just one behind joint-leaders Pedro Neto and Mohamed Salah in the assist charts.
Suggested photo: Richarlison of Tottenham
Richarlison has discovered his scoring boots again after his opener against former employers Everton made it four goals in three games for the Brazilian striker, who had found the back of the net just once in his previous 12 appearances. His recent form has coincided with an upturn in results for the North Londoners in their bid to challenge for the title.
De Zerbi lamented the mistakes that cost Brighton two points at Palace after goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen's poor clearance led to Jordan Ayew opening with scoring with a close-range header.
"I think we lost two points. It is because we made too many mistakes, especially in the first half," the Italian told Sky Sports.
"We played in a different way in the second half. Played with more energy and invention to score. If we are losing it is because we are making too many mistakes. We had two or three chances to score and didn't score.
"It's not the responsibility of Bart Verbuggen [only] because when the keeper is under pressure he needs his team-mates to play."
Postecoglou hailed a team effort against the Toffees and was pleased with their versatility and resilience to come away with all three points.
"We had to do things a bit differently, but the pleasing thing is that we got it done," he told SPURSPLAY.
"We had to show some resilience, some defending that we haven't had to do for a lot of games, and Vic's [Vicario] pulled off some great saves as well. It was a team contribution to an important three points."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Brighton - 2
Tottenham - 3
Draws - 0
Premier League Matchday 19 fixtures:
Tuesday, December 26
12h30: Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
15h00: Bournemouth v Fulham
15h00: Sheffield United v Luton Town
17h30: Burnley v Liverpool
20h00: Manchester United v Aston Villa
Wednesday, December 27
19h30: Brentford v Wolverhampton Wanderers
19h30: Chelsea v Crystal Palace
20h15: Everton v Manchester City
Thursday, December 28
19h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
20h15: Arsenal v West Ham United
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