Tottenham Hotspur's turbulent campaign has actually tantalised prosperity down the line, with Ange Postecoglou's managerial appointment working wonders to restore the fluency.
Fifth in the Premier League after 18 matches and with a game in hand on third-placed Aston Villa, Spurs have the opportunity to advance against Brighton & Hove Albion this evening, having won their past three matches.
That said, Postecoglou has many issues to contend with, and while the Seagulls are not in the finest form, they possess more than enough to hurt the hosts this evening.
Spurs team news vs Brighton
Tottenham might be firing themselves back into form but they will need to defeat Roberto De Zerbi's squad with a certain thinness that stems from the injury troubles over the past few months.
Star centre-back Cristian Romero is expected to be out for four or five weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury, and with Micky van de Ven still not expected back until January, Postecoglou will be forced to tinker over the coming period.
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Yves Bissouma is serving the second game of a four-match ban before jetting off to AFCON, while James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic and Ryan Sessegnon remain long-term absentees.
Relievingly, Destiny Udogie will return to the starting line-up after serving a suspension during last week's hard-fought victory over Everton.
The players who could replace Cristian Romero vs Brighton
Udogie's availability hugely benefits Postecoglou's chances of success against Brighton, with the Italian slotting into his natural position and allowing his stand-in, Emerson Royal, to perhaps move centrally.
This makeshift solution is something that has been implemented during the 2-1 home defeat against Villa and the thrilling 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City, though he won just six of 15 duels across said encounters.
Eric Dier will be desperate to make another appearance after coming on at half-time against the Toffees; the England international is firmly out of favour under the Australian's management but the pickings are slim down at N17 right now.
While the 29-year-old might not be the tailor-made choice for Postecoglou's system – amid reports that an exit could lie in store in January – he is an experienced Premier League defender and may well be called upon today.
Should Postecoglou opt for a different route, however, handing Alfie Dorrington his first-team debut might be the perfect solution, with Spurs reporter Alasdair Gold claiming that he's "one of the most exciting centre-back prospects to emerge from Spurs' academy in years."
Dorrington, aged just 18, has been on the bench for the past seven outings and won all nine of his games in the Premier League 2 with the U21s earlier in the term, with a scouting report highlighting his strength in passing, positioning and being 'strong and decisive in the challenge'.
Romero is not easily replaced, with the aggressive star ranking among the top 14% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 19% for progressive passes, the top 6% for tackles and the top 17% for blocks, as per FBref.
But Dorrington has been described as a 'commanding' centre-half by his club and will be confident in his ability to do a job on the major stage, with Gold stating that he believes a debut could be in the pipeline soon for the "terrific" starlet.
Having now been within the first-team mix for multiple match weeks, Dorrington could be handed his chance to shine, perhaps even impressing and staking his claim for a prominent role over the weeks and months to come.