It couldn’t get any worse for Tottenham Hotspur, both on and off the pitch, then what transpired on Sunday. In a 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea, Spurs saw themselves dominated in all facets, and forward Son Heung-min sent off for a red card, due to a kicking incident with Antonio Rudiger.
The incident then led to some Spurs fans racially abusing Rudiger, and Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho making snarky remarks about the Son-Rudiger altercation. Mourinho’s sarcastic remarks seem a lot worse now, given the broader context of what happened to Rudiger on the weekend, and the widespread problem of racism in football.
Blues boss Frank Lampard, a protege of Mourinho’s, has since hit back at Mourinho’s remarks.
Looking ahead to the Boxing Day fixture, eighth place Spurs will host 13th place Brighton & Hove Albion, and it will be the first match of three that Son must sit out, having the club’s appeal against his red card rejected.
Elsewhere attacking midfielder Erik Lamela is back in training now and could be in contention to feature. Lamela is coming back into the first team at the time when the side needs him the most. Meanwhile Hugo Lloris (elbow) and Ben Davies (ankle) remain out as long term injury absentees.
Brighton have no new injury concerns at all, but winger Jose Izquierdo is continuing his long term recovery from a serious knee injury.
Tottenham Hotspur v. Brighton & Hove Albion FYIs
Sunday Dec 26, 12:30 p.m. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Form Guide: Tottenham Hotspur- LWWLW Brighton & Hove Albion- LDDWL
Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur win 62%, Draw 22%, Brighton & Hove Albion win 16%
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2, Brighton & Hove Albion 0
Look for Spurs to bounce back nicely here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.