Brentford hosts Spurs in New Year’s London derby.
Brentford vs. Tottenham Hotspur begins at 20:00 [GMT] on Thursday, January 1, 2026, at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur renew their London rivalry on New Year’s Day, with history, form, and an emotional managerial subplot all adding extra edge to the contest at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford are still searching for their first home Premier League win against Spurs. The Bees have failed to win any of their four league meetings with Tottenham on home soil, drawing the first three before suffering a 2-0 defeat last season. Overall, recent head-to-heads have tilted firmly in Spurs’ favor, with Tottenham winning four consecutive Premier League matches against Brentford and losing just once in nine meetings, a 3-1 defeat in May 2023. New Year’s Day has not always been kind to the hosts. After winning their opening league game of the calendar year in five straight seasons between 2020 and 2024, Brentford saw that run come to an end with a 3-1 home loss to Arsenal on January 1st, 2025. This will be their fifth London derby played on New Year’s Day in league competition, having previously recorded two wins, one draw, and one defeat. Despite that setback last year, Brentford’s recent home form offers encouragement. They have won eight of their last 12 Premier League home matches, including four of the last five, placing them among the league’s strongest sides at home over that period. Victory here would leave the 9th-placed side with three victories in a row [LLDWW]. A 4—3—3 formation with Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, and Lewis Potter.
Tottenham, meanwhile, arrive with mixed New Year credentials of their own. Spurs have lost their opening league fixture in two of the last three calendar years and are looking to avoid suffering defeats in consecutive years for the first time since 2008 and 2009. Historically, however, they have performed well in London derbies on New Year’s Day, losing just one of eight such fixtures in league competition. In the Premier League specifically, Spurs have won both January 1st derbies, beating Fulham in 2011 and Chelsea in a memorable 5-3 encounter in 2015. January has often proven problematic for Tottenham in recent seasons. They lost all four of their Premier League matches in the month last season and have been beaten in 10 of their last 16 January league games overall. Notably, their most recent January win came against Brentford in 2024. A major talking point surrounds Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, who returns to Brentford having overseen 278 league matches for the club between 2018 and 2025. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Richarlison in attack is expected. Xavi Simons is expected for this fixture.