What to expect when Tottenham play Brentford tomorrow afternoon

Tottenham can take a step closer to fourth spot if they do what is required of them and win at Brentford tomorrow. 

Easier said than done.

Brentford are enjoying their best form of the season, having won three on the bounce and five of six. The Bees beat Chelsea, West Ham and Watford in recent weeks, proving yet again their ability to not only compete with the big boys, but to triumph over them.

Brentford is only two points out of ninth place and don’t have to look over their shoulders. Their place in the Premier League next season is guaranteed, posing the question of whether it’s better to be playing for something concrete during the run-in?

Playing loose and free, knowing their fate, is suiting Brentford nicely. They aren’t shackled by the concern of having to obtain a certain result, a dangerous prospect for Spurs, who cannot leave Brentford Community Stadium without all three points.

Will Tottenham boss possession or play on the counter?

When you look at the matchup on paper, you’d expect a superior Spurs team to boss possession and dictate play. However, Spurs have shown a long-term, conspicuous inability to split apart stubborn, organized and well-drilled defences of middling top flight teams.

Cue the counter-attacking strategy, a game plan that is immeasurably more successful for Spurs. While the effectiveness of the counter has been proven repeatedly with this crop of players, it would still be a discredit if Tottenham were to employ the counter-punch strategy for the duration of tomorrow’s pivotal encounter.

Spurs would be best served executing a combination of both, allowing Brentford to control possession from kickoff but transitioning to a possession-based style after finding the all-important breakthrough.

Brentford, from the onset, will invariably be full of beans, not only because of their raucous partisan support but also due to their recent rich vein of form. Let Brentford dictate the play early and frustrate them with sound defensive work. Then, when the opportunity arises, counter with lethal force.

Once Spurs score the all-important first goal, they must take control of proceedings and possess the ball, nullifying any chance of a Brentford comeback while keeping the sellout crowd relatively quiet.

That game plan won’t work if Spurs concede first, a nightmare, worst-case scenario for Conte and company. The longer the match stays at 0-0, or, heaven forbid Spurs concede first, the more likely this encounter won’t go Spurs way.

Minus the abundance of chances they conceded in the first half, Tottenham basically needs to repeat their performance against Villa a few weeks ago.