Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing defeat to Chelsea with a victory against Brighton this Thursday afternoon. But if Spurs are really to strike back, Harry Kane will have to find his form and outperform Neal Maupay on the other side of the pitch.
On the chalkboard
The Special One’s troops suffered a rather painful defeat just last Sunday when they welcomed Frank Lampard’s Chelsea to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Unfortunately for Spurs, the Blues were the better team on the night and managed to snatch away all three points with a comfortable 2-0 victory, colouring London blue once more.
But Brighton will be no slouch either.
Even though they have only tallied one win in their last six games, they would be more than just happy to pounce on Mourinho’s squad that might still be rattled and trying to find its feet.
For that reason, Kane finally shifting into that higher gear of his could be crucial for their chances of taking all the points away from their opposition.
True colours
Spurs’ gunman is very much a known figure in the world of football but lately, the 26-year-old striker hasn’t really been himself at all.
Despite rattling the inside of the net nine times in the Premier League so far, Kane has only scored in one game out of the last five. Granted, in that single one he netted two goals and an assist but it’s not like him to go through such dry spells for a sustained period of time.
Maybe even more worrying was his display vs Chelsea when he was largely anonymous, squandering practically the only huge chance he got, rocketing his shot over the bar when normally you would expect him to finish it.
He also deployed only 13 passes on the night with 69.2% passing accuracy, highlighting how uninvolved he was throughout the game.
And sure, his goal tally is still more than just decent and his 2.8 shots per game do indicate he’s trying but he’ll have to find his true colours if Spurs are to start winning again.
No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?
If he doesn’t take his chances, Maupay just might.
The 23-year-old forward is Brighton’s highest goal-scorer with seven strikes to his name along with 2.9 shots per game as well.
Not to mention that he has scored three in his last four games, indicating that he is currently in red-hot form and the Seagulls will have to take every single chance they get on Thursday.
Maupay will certainly be looking to punish every mistake Mourinho’s troops present to him and that makes Kane’s task even more important than it already is.
Meanwhile, many Spurs fans were not really happy with Jose Mourinho’s decisions in the clash against Chelsea…