Brentford make the short trip to North London to face off with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening in the League Cup semi-finals.
This encounter is a huge chance for Brentford to down another Premier League opponent, but Tottenham will be confident of winning and making their first EFL Cup final since 2015.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford Head-to-Head
Tottenham turned a mini-slump in their season around this weekend by beating Leeds United 3-0. The win was their first in the Premier League since their victory over Arsenal on 6 December and elevated them back into the top four.
Jose Mourinho’s side have had a somewhat truncated run to the League Cup semi-finals. They were handed a bye in the third round when Leyton Orient were forced to withdraw due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests. That means that Spurs have played three games less than Brentford in this competition.
Tottenham defeated Chelsea after a penalty shoot-out in the fourth round, while the quarter-finals saw them overcome Stoke City in a 1-3 win.
Brentford, meanwhile, have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2020-21 campaign. Thomas Frank’s side have taken four Premier League scalps en route to this semi-final – Southampton, West Brom, Fulham and Newcastle. They have also been in great form in the EFL Championship.
The Bees’ last loss came back on 24 October, and they’re currently on an unbeaten run of 15 games. Their most recent win was an impressive victory over Bournemouth. They’ve also had a longer rest than Tottenham after this weekend’s match against Bristol City was postponed.
Tottenham have faced Brentford just twice in recent years – in the 2000-01 edition of the League Cup. The Bees secured a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the second round tie, only to be beaten 2-0 at White Hart Lane a week later.
Tottenham Hotspur form guide: L-L-W-D-W
Brentford form guide: D-W-W-W-W
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho will hope to name a strong side for this game, but he still has a number of injuries to deal with. Tottenham will be without midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and forward Gareth Bale, who are both injured. Some reports have also suggested that Erik Lamela has tested positive for COVID-19, but this has not been confirmed.
Right-back Matt Doherty will miss out through suspension due to picking up a red card against Leeds at the weekend.
Injured: Giovani Lo Celso, Gareth Bale
Doubtful: Erik Lamela
Suspended: Matt Doherty
Brentford
Brentford boss Thomas Frank will be without two players for this game. Mads Roerslev and Shandon Baptiste are sidelined, although they may be ready to return later this month.
Injured: Mads Roerslev, Shandon Baptiste
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford Predicted XI
Tottenham Hotspur predicted XI (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris, Japhet Tanganga, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Sergio Reguilon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko, Tanguy Ndombele, Steven Bergwijn, Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min
Brentford predicted XI (4-3-3): David Raya, Henrik Dalsgaard, Pontus Jansson, Ethan Pinnock, Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Sergi Canos
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford Prediction
This match represents a great chance for Tottenham to make their first domestic cup final since 2015, but it could also be a potential banana skin. Brentford will be no pushovers by any means and will surely put up much more of a fight than Stoke did two weeks ago.
However, Jose Mourinho’s side must go into this game as heavy favorites. Brentford might be a Premier League-quality side on a tremendous run, but Tottenham have a far stronger side on paper. They should also be fully focused, with their next Premier League game not coming until 13 January.
With that in mind, a relatively tight win for Tottenham seems to be the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brentford
The match will be streamed for Indian viewers on 6th January 2021, 1:15am LIVE on Voot Select