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Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur news: Christian Eriksen to take centre stage against former club

Brentford have won five of their last six games in the Premier League and have the form to make Saturday’s capital clash uncomfortable for visitors and top-four chasers Tottenham Hotspur.

The Bees made it three straight victories on Saturday when Pontus Jansson's last-minute header secured a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road and plunged second-bottom Watford deeper into relegation trouble.

Thomas Frank's men are currently in 12th position on 39 points and have five games remaining this season to push for a top-half finish.

The west London side trail Manchester United in sixth by 15 points in an unlikely end-of-season bid to reach the Conference League qualifiers.

Tottenham blew a glorious chance to strengthen their top-four claims when losing 1-0 to Brighton last time out - failing to register a shot on target - but remain in the coveted final Champions League spot, level on points with rivals Arsenal, because of a superior goal difference.

When: Saturday, April 23, 2022 (17:30 BST)

Where: Brentford Community Stadium

How to watch: Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the referee for Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur

Birmingham-born match official Andre Marriner will take charge of this London derby on Saturday.

His last game in the middle was on April 9 in the Premier League when Leeds recorded a 3-0 win at Watford.
His last red card came in the Championship back on January 29 when he sent off defender Gary Cahill in Bournemouth's 1-0 win at Barnsley.

Games refereed by Andre Marriner in 2021/22: Games 24 yellow cards 76 red cards 3

Referee: Andre Marriner

Assistants: Simon Long, Scott Ledger

Fourth official: Tony Harrington

VAR: Paul Tierney

Recent form

Brentford are charged with the task of making it four straight wins in the Premier League on Saturday when they host Antonio Conte's Tottenham.

Christian Norgaard and Pontus Jansson were on target as the Bees deepened Watford's relegation worries in a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road last time out and thoughts are now turning to a top-half finish in the Premier League.

Brentford looked to be freefalling when failing to record a win between January 11 and February 26, so the turnaround in form means they can look forward to another season in the top flight.
Their home form needs improving - they have won only six of 16 games at the Brentford Community Stadium - but they do not need to fear their London rivals.

Tottenham undid all their previous good work when losing 1-0 at home to Brighton but remain in the hunt for a Champions League place.

Last Saturday's setback against Graham Potter's men snapped a four-game win streak in the Premier League and they must navigate fixtures against the Bees, Leicester, Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley and Norwich in their remaining games.

Of concern to Conte is the alarming statistic that his players failed to produce a shot on target for the first time in their past 21 Premier League games since November 2021 against Everton.

Recent players in form

Ivan Toney has scored 12 goals in 27 starts in the Premier League so far this season and was on target in the recent 2-0 win over West Ham.

The 26-year-old striker is under contract until 2025 but is reportedly a target for big-spenders Newcastle United.

Christian Eriksen will line up against his old club Tottenham and his former Inter Milan manager, Antonio Conte, on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Denmark international has returned to his influential best for Brentford following a tumultuous spell in which he suffered a cardiac arrest at the Euros and was subsequently told he was ineligible to continue playing in Italy fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

On the form of Eriksen, Thomas Frank told reporters: "The main thing is our key players are fit, then you add extreme quality and that helps."

Tottenham's Heung-min Son hit a hat-trick in his side's 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa to make it seven goals in his last six games in all competitions.

The 29-year-old South Korea international has now scored 17 goals in 29 starts and is the club's top-scorer in the Premier League this season - five ahead of England talisman Harry Kane.

Tottenham also confirmed this week 21-year-old Academy graduate Oliver Skipp has signed a new five-year contract to stay with the club until July 2024.

Past meetings

The two teams last met on December 2 last year when a Sergio Canos own goal on 12 minutes and a scintillating finish from Heung-min Son just past the hour-mark secured a 2-0 win for Tottenham.

Brentford only had one shot on target in a disappointing performance and slipped to 12th following that defeat.

Prior to that, Tottenham claimed a 2-0 League Cup semi-final win over Brentford in January last year with goals from goals from Moussa Sissoko and Heung-min Son.

That win made it three straight victories for Tottenham over their London rivals.

Spurs went on to lose the final 1-0 against Manchester City at Wembley.

Managers' thoughts

Brentford manager Thomas Frank on a possible top-half finish: "The supporters were amazing [against Watford]. Being in this position is remarkable. We came up through the playoffs, lowest budget, 'bus stop in Hounslow', all that. But doing what we are doing is fantastic."

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte on their top four chances: "I said before the game against Brighton, in this type of race it'll be very important to make less mistakes as possible, but in this league you can drop points in every game.
"Every game is tough. They're not easy games where you're sure to go there and get easy points. United against Norwich, 3-2 and at 75 minutes, they were 2-2. It's very very difficult, especially because when you play a team involved in the relegation zone, like West Ham against Burnley, you know that it won't be easy.
"I think in this race, the team that's able to make less mistakes from now until the end can have the possibility to play in the Champions League next season."

Predicted teams

Former England Under-21 international Josh Dasilva was on the bench for Brentford at Vicarage Road after being sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring problem.

The 23-year-old former Arsenal youth prospect was an unused substitute, but Mads Bech Sorensen, Mathias Jensen and Saman Ghoddos all came on and will be pushing for starts.

Ethan Pinnock is a concern because of a hamstring injury.

Tottenham trio Matt Doherty, Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp are all out of contention for the short trip across the capital.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Sorensen, Henry; Janelt, Norgaard, Eriksen; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son

Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction

Brentford are ending the season with a swagger and influential midfielder Christian Eriksen will be keen to make a statement against his former club and old manager.

The Bees are playing with freedom and have already taken the derby spoils in recent fixtures against Chelsea and West Ham.

Tottenham were flying before they were stopped in their tracks in a limp defeat by Brighton and will know time is running out in their see-saw battle with Arsenal and Manchester United to guarantee Champions League football for next season.

Thomas Frank's men can push Tottenham all the way here but the visitors can edge 3-2 away win in the hope that their star duo Heung-min Son and Harry Kane produce the goods.

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