Xavi Simons looked every bit the club-record signing he is on Saturday, as he scored a goal and set up Richarlison for the other in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 victory over Brentford, Thomas Frank’s former club.
WATCH — Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford full match replay
The victory snaps Spurs’ five-game winless run in the Premier League (0W-2D-3L) and comes at the most opportune time for both manager and player alike. Frank has come under pressure in recent weeks not only for the results, but more so the increasingly poor quality of performances over his first 14 games in charge. Same for Simons, who was yet to score a goal for the club and had just one assist after signing for $70 million in the summer. These are reasonable questions to ask.
Frank and Simons had some answers on Saturday, but it must be said Brentford were woeful and never once looked like they were able to compete. A couple of repeat performances in the Champions League this week and then against Nottingham Forest next weekend, and the vibes in north London might feel decidedly different.
MORE — Thomas Frank reaction
Spurs (22 points) are back up to 8th in the Premier League table. Brentford (19 points) are 14th.
What’s next?
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Slavia Prague — Tuesday, 3 pm ET (UEFA Champions League)
- Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur — Sunday, 9 am ET (next PL fixture)
- Brentford vs Leeds — Sunday, 11:30 am ET
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford live updates - by Andy Edwards
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Richarlison (25'), Xavi Simons (43')
GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Brentford: Xavi wins the ball at midfield and takes it all the way (43')
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Brentford: Simons finds Richarlison with a perfect cross (25')
Spurs starting lineup
Vicario - Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence - Bentancur, Gray, Simons - Kudus, Richarlison, Kolo Muani
Brentford starting lineup
Kelleher - Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Ajer - Henderson, Yarmolyuk, Damsgaard - Schade, Ouattara, Thiago
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (December 6)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — North London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Frank’s side showed plenty of character to fight back twice to draw at Newcastle on Tuesday, as captain and center back Cristian Romero scored twice including a late bicycle kick to make it 2-2. Spurs are without a win in four Premier League games and haven’t won at home in the league since the opening day of the season.
Brentford are humming along nicely after Frank’s departure, with his former assistant coach Keith Andrews doing a fine job and they sit level on points with Spurs heading into this game. They lost 2-0 at Arsenal on Wednesday but stuck in the game and Andrews even rested several key players to keep them fresh for this visit to Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Dominic Solanke all remain out, while Radu Dragusin is close to a return. Spurs have made so many changes to their lineup in recent weeks and Frank has called out Spurs’ fans at home for getting on the back of their players during a tough run, especially in their home defeat to Fulham at the weekend. If they concede early against Brentford this weekend it will get ugly but given all of their struggles, Spurs are only five points off the top four. All is not lost.
Brentford team news, focus
The Bees continue to punch above their weight and Igor Thiago has already scored 11 goals this season to underline his clinical finishing. He was rested in midweek along with key midfielders Jordan Henderson and Mikkel Damsgaard and all three will come back in to face Spurs. Andrews has kept things very similar to what Frank was doing so well at Brentford and they remain dangerous on the counter and from set pieces.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brentford prediction
This feels like a bad time for Spurs to play Brentford and this should be an entertaining end-to-end encounter for the neutral. Spurs 2-2 Brentford.
