James Maddison returns to bench as Spurs seek to avoid relegation

Roberto De Zerbi takes charge of his second match as Spurs boss in dire need of a win
Tottenham host Brighton this afternoon knowing that they need to win if they stand any chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League .

It has been a nightmare season for Spurs and could end in horrifying fashion if they cannot find a way to end their win drought and move up the table.

They are currently sat 18th, inside the relegation zone, but have not won a league match since a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the end of December.

Roberto De Zerbi has been brought in to bring stability to the club after both Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor were sacked from the head coach role but his tenure started with a loss to Sunderland after Nordi Mukiele’s second half strike.

Spurs are also up against a strong team in Brighton who entered the weekend in ninth just two points behind sixth placed Chelsea.

Sixth will secure European football next year so the Seagulls still have it all to play for and will want to build on their run of victories when they head to London today.

After Leeds’ 3-0 win over Wolves earlier this afternoon, a Spurs victory would also finally condemn Rob Edwards’ side to relegation, making it mathematically impossible for them to escape the drop.

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Leeds’ win against bottom-placed Wolves means the Old Gold will have their relegation confirmed should Spurs win tonight.

Leeds, meanwhile, are now nine points clear of the bottom three, which means they are pretty much safe.

"The problem is not the league,” he told the broadcaster.

“The problem is to keep the relationship with the board and to have the same ideas in the project."
Brighton’s starting XI may remain unchanged but there is one change on the bench - Matt O’Riley has taken Solly March’s seat.

Could Maddison's return from a long-term knee injury be the difference that keeps Spurs up?

Let's see if he makes his first appearance of the season off the bench this evening.

Aside from that Xavi Simons has gotten the nod up front, while Rodrigo Bentancur is back in the midfield for the first time since January 7, while Kevin Danso replaces injured captain Cristian Romero at the back.

The Argentine's absence means Micky van de Ven will wear the armband.

Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have dropped to the bench.

Hurzerler, meanwhile, sticks with the same XI that won 2-0 away to Burnley last weekend.

They have lost six of the eight on their own ground since, taking a league worst eight points from 17 matches in that period.

No wonder De Zerbi has already spoken about his team being bereft of confidence.

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