Michael Owen predicts what many Brighton fans fear ahead of Tottenham showdown

Michael Owen feels Tottenham will have too much firepower for Brighton despite missing Harry Kane

Former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen believes Tottenham will cope without the injured Harry Kane at Brighton this Sunday.

Jose Mourinho's Spurs will be without their leading striker after he injured both ankles during their 3-1 midweek loss at Liverpool.

Spurs were beaten 3-0 on their previous visit to the Amex Stadium last season but Owen expects Tottenham to shade this one in the Sunday evening kick-off at the Amex Stadium.

Graham Potter's Brighton remain without the injured Tariq Lamptey and Danny Welbeck. Full-back Lamptey is expected to stay sidelined for a further two to three weeks due to a hamstring issue, while forward Welbeck is yet to overcome a knee problem.

Midfielder Adam Lallana (groin) and striker Aaron Connolly (hamstring) are pushing for action after returning from their respective fitness issues as unused substitutes in the midweek draw with Fulham but Alireza Jahanbakhsh (hamstring) is not expected to be involved.

Mourinho also says Dele Alli, linked with a move to Paris St Germain, is out with a tendon injury. Sergio Reguilon (muscle) and Giovani Lo Celso (hamstring) will again miss out.

"Tottenham were outplayed for most of their match against Liverpool on Thursday night," wrote Owen in his BerVictor predictions blog"However, they almost got off to a perfect start when Son’s goal was chalked off by VAR – so who knows what might have been.

"Brighton have made a marked improvement since the turn of the year and there is little doubt that they can cause most Premier League sides problems.

"That said, one player that has caught my eye in recent weeks is Tanguy Ndombele. He seems to be playing a little further forward and that has seen a huge uplift in his shots and goals.

"With Harry Kane a doubt, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him scoring in a narrow win for Spurs."

Michael Owen prediction: Brighton 1-2 Tottenham

Brighton predicted starting XI Sanchez, White, Dunk, Webster; Veltman, Mac Allister, Bissouma, Gross, March; Connolly, Maupay.

Tottenham predicted starting XI: Lloris; Rodon, Dier, Alderweireld; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Davies; Lucas, Son, Bergwijn