Brentford FC travels to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for another London derby as the Bees face Spurs for the first time in a top-flight match.
Although Tottenham and Brentford have squared off as clubs 42 times since 1902, this is only the eighth time the two clubs have met since 1950.
Little recent history between Tottenham and Brentford
The last league meeting between Spurs and Bees was back in December 1949, as the sides drew in a League Division Two match. All eight games since have occurred after 1992 and all eight were in the League Cup with Spurs winning six of the seven and the teams drawing in 1998 before Spurs won the tie on the second-leg.
The most recent encounter between Tottenham and Brentford was last season as Spurs stung the Bees 2-0 in the League Cup semi-finals. Spurs were led by goals from Moussa Sissoko and Heung-Min Son, on the way to the finals where Tottenham fell to Manchester City.
What made that meeting last season different was that it was the only 1-legged affair between the two sides all six previous meetings were back when the League Cup played home-and-home games. Brentford did manage 11 shots on 46 % possession but only had three on target and all were saved.
As a cup game under Jose Mourinho, we cannot read too much into that match as it has little bearing on this season.
Tottenham and Brentford nursing some big injuries
After not featuring since getting hurt with Argentina during the last international break, Antonio Conte confirmed that Cristian Romero would not be available again until 2022 at the soonest. While the news on Giovani Lo Celso was not as dire, the Brentford match comes too soon for Lo Celso.
Romero and Lo Celso are the only two senior Spurs unavailable and teenager Dane Scarlett is still out as well.
Like Spurs with Romero, Brentford also has had some long-term injuries in the defence with Norweigan defender Kristoffer Ajer unavailable for at least a few more weeks having been injured in late October in the League Cup against Stoke. Also, Danish defender Zanka continues to be out after picking up a knock in early November against Norwich.
Despite losing three players Sunday in their 1-0 win against Everton, all three Christian Norgaard, Rico Henry, and Sergi Canso are likely to play against Spurs. According to West London Sport, coach Thomas Frank is expected to name an unchanged squad to the team that beat the Toffees.
Tottenham and Brentford are both inconsistent with their form
Thus far in the Premier League season, both Brentford and Tottenham have proven inconsistent at best. Besides the win over Everton, Frank and company have had some big performances this season, including opening day 2-0 win over Arsenal, a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool, and a 2-1 win over West Ham at London Stadium.
Unfortunately for Brentford, that stirring win over the Hammers was followed by four straight losses including dropping all six points in back-to-back losses against Burnley and Norwich.
Like the Bees, Spurs have been consistently inconsistent since their fortunate 3-0 start.
Despite the struggles, both teams are unbeaten in their last two matches, both coming off draws, followed by a 1 goal win. Brentford is trying to establish their legitimacy as a top-flight club and Spurs are trying to claw their way back into the top four fight, but only one can walk away with three points on Thursday, as Tottenham’s hectic December begins with a busy eight days.
Projected XIs for Bees and Spurs
Bees: 3-5-2 Alvaro Fernandez (GK), Ethan Pinnock (CB), Charlie Good (CB), Pontus Jansson (CB), Christian Norgaard (DM), Vitaly Janelt (CM), Frank Onyeka (CM), Sergi Canos (RMF), Rico Henry (LMF), Bryan Mbeumo (FW), Ivan Toney (STK)
Spurs: 3-4-3 Hugo Lloris (GK), Ben Davis (CB), Eric Dier (CB), Davinson Sanchez (CB), Pierre Hojbjerg (CM), Oliver Skipp (CM), Emerson Royal (RWB), Sergio Reguilon (LWB), Heung-Min Son (FW), Lucas Moura (FW), Harry Kane (STK)
Jonathan Moss will be the referee with Graham Scott as the Fourth official and Peter Bankes on VAR.