Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur tips: Hosts to relish rare role of home underdog
- George Dempsey
- 10 August 2023
Brentford welcomes Tottenham Hotspur to the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday and we’re expecting Spurs to make a slow start to life under Ange Postecoglou.
Brentford and Tottenham will kick-off the first Super Sunday of the 2023/24 Premier League season when they meet live on Sky Sports on Sunday afternoon.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Premier League, Sunday, August 13, Kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event
Predicted score
Brentford 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League betting tips
Brentford vs Tottenham team news
With Ivan Toney suspended until early next year, Brentford will be hoping that Bryan Mbeumo (thigh), Frank Onyeka (muscle) and Christian Norgaard (leg) are available, but the early prognosis is good.
Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) is a long-term absentee for Spurs. Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Bryan Gil (groin), Fraser Forster (back), Tanguy Ndombele (fitness) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle) are unavailable.
Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur betting preview
Since their arrival in the Premier League, Brentford have turned the modest confines of the Gtech Community Stadium into something to be feared.
They've claimed the scalps of Arsenal, Manchester United, Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester City and we think they're more than overpriced in their bid to add Spurs to that list.
Spurs have been aggressive this summer with the signings of James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and Alejo Veliz.
They'll now need to integrate a number of new players, which always takes time, and adapt to Ange Postecoglou's style while hoping they can retain Harry Kane.
There seems to be a lot going on at Spurs right now but high expectations, coupled with Ivan Toney's ban, has seen the bookmakers sway heavily towards the visitors.
Brentford are much more than a one-man team and continuity and a clear understanding of your structure count for a lot at any level of football.
Thomas Frank is tactically astute and adaptable and the Bees have had plenty of time to work on their structure without top scorer Toney.
Arsenal and Newcastle United were the only teams to win here last season, while Frank's men kept clean sheets against Man Utd, Chelsea, Brighton and Man City.
The notable difference about Spurs in pre-season is how keen they were to attack. Let's face facts, their pragmatic approach has been a boring watch in recent years.
Instead, under Postecoglou we saw ball retention, high pressing, runs from deep and territorial dominance in pre-season - and lots of goals.
Spurs looked like a constant threat with payers popping up all over the place, but they also looked vulnerable at the back, conceding nine goals in four matches.
It feels to us as if the pattern of this game is already set. Tottenham are going to dominate the ball and Brentford will set about to frustrate them and hit them on the break.
There are reasons to be optimistic if you're a Spurs fan, but the transition is not yet complete and the bookie's confidence feels misplaced. We'll take punts on Brentford scoring first and winning.
