Tottenham team news: Maddison makes long-awaited EPL return against Brentford

Tottenham face a tricky London derby against Brentford on Wednesday night, but are boosted by the return of talisman, James Maddison.

The former Leicester man had been the fulcrum of everything that Ange Postecoglou’s side did in the opening few months of the season, but his last involvement – aside from a 17 minute FA Cup cameo against Man City – came in the match against Chelsea back on November 6 last year.

In his absence, the North Londoners had a little wobble in terms of performance levels and results, though their current fifth position is still a decent platform for the club to work from in their remaining 17 games.

At present, they’re just three points off the Champions League places and six behind second-placed Arsenal.

That would be reduced to three points with a win on Wednesday, though Thomas Frank’s excellent side are sure to have something to say about that.

COYS! ? pic.twitter.com/qn1wqXjmwv

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 31, 2024

The hosts begin the match with Vicario in goal, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie at the back, Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Oliver Skipp in midfield and a front three of Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and Timo Werner.

With the possible exception of Son Heung-min, it’s as strong an XI as Postecoglou could start the game with.