Trio of Hyypia’s hitmen who can trouble Tottenham at the Lane

Pesky seagulls are the bane of many a seaside visitor’s life, but this week it could be Mauricio Pochettino’s men in north London who are inconvenienced by some visiting ‘Gulls.

As Tottenham look to bounce back after a poor defeat to Newcastle at the weekend, they face a tricky tie against Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.

Spurs are priced up at 4/9 for victory, with a draw at 10/3 and an away win at 13/2, as we look at three of Sami Hyypia’s men that could cause the Premier League side problems.

Lewis Dunk

The 22-year-old centre back is incidentally Brighton’s top goalscorer this season with four goals to his name. Like his manager showing that he has an eye for goal, as well as being a rock at the heart of the defence.

Hyypia has already stated that he “would be surprised if the interest didn’t come” from some Premier League sides in January, with Spurs themselves one of the clubs linked to the young defender.

He got on the scoresheet against Cheltenham in the first round, and will be a threat from set pieces, with odds of 17/2 that he scores anytime.

Danny Holla

An arrival from Den Haag in Holland at the start of the season, Holla has slotted into the Albion midfield with ease so far this season.

Having played over 200 games in the Dutch top-flight, big game experience is something that he certainly doesn’t lack and could be an inspired leader from the centre of the park against the Premier League side.

Controlling the midfield is what Holla does best, and he will be there pulling the strings, with his passing a particular strong point, having completed an impressive 86% of his passes so far this campaign.

Craig Mackail-Smith

Having impressed at Peterborough, Mackail-Smith started brightly in his spell on the South Coast, but has since run hot and cold, with injuries curtailing his progress and is in danger of running into one of those cold spells again.

He has just two goals to his name to date this season, albeit more than a couple of his strike partners, but will be desperate to keep the momentum going after finding the net in Brighton’s third round match against Burton.

As he is on his way back from injury, he may not find himself in the starting line-up just yet but there are far worse bets than the 9/1 that he can come on later in the game and bag the last goal.

All odds and markets correct as of the date of publishing

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