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• Alonso wary of Kiel threat ahead of landmark Leverkusen outing

  Xabi Alonso hopes to mark his 100th game in charge of Bayer Leverkusen with a victory, but the Spaniard is not underestimating bottom club Holstein Kiel. 

  Alonso led his side to a win over Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the Bundesliga champions one of only seven teams with a perfect record in the competition so far. 

  But their fortunes in the league have been much different, taking 10 points from their opening five games, the latest of which ended in a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich. 

  Leverkusen's start to the campaign is the worst by a reigning champion in 12 years since Borussia Dortmund managed eight points after the first five games in 2012-13. 

  But Alonso, who has won 67 of 99 games in charge of Die Werkself, is wary of the threat this weekend's opponents provide despite their league position. 

  "Every league match is tough, and we have learned that this season already," Alonso said.

  "We expect the same tomorrow. They only have a point but deserve a bit more than what they have at the moment."

  "In our heads and our preparation, it is only Kiel. We have full respect. They are a good opponent, very flexible in their lineup.

  "I expect to see my team to be mature and intelligent. We have to show that we are fully prepared.

  "My team plays with the same motivation in every game, so I have no reason to doubt them, and we will hopefully show it tomorrow."

  Many of Leverkusen's problems this term have come from defence, a part of their side that was crucial in their domestic double last season. 

  Die Werkself conceded just 24 times last campaign, 15 less than Stuttgart in second place. 

  Leverkusen have already conceded six goals in their last two Bundesliga games at the BayArena, as many as they let in across their previous 12 home matches combined.  

  Only 1. FC Koln in 1964-65 conceded as many goals in their first two home games as champions.

  And with a total of 10 goals conceded from their first five games, Leverkusen has the worst defence of a reigning champion since Wolfsburg in 2009/10 (11).

  Alonso stressed the importance of improving defensively, and he is confident that a win and a clean sheet will give his side a solid foundation to build on after the international break.

  "If we win then we will have had a good phase (until the international break)," Alonso said. 

  "Then we can prepare for the next block of matches. It was important that we are defending a bit better than we had been last month.

  "That is something we need. Without it, we are not competitive, and we want to be competitive."

• Ja's Cavalier, Haiti's Real Hope confirm Carib Cup semis berths with 4-1 and 2-0 wins over Arnett Gardens, Mount Pleasant

  Jamaica’s Cavalier FC and Haitian outfit Real Hope FC confirmed their spots in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-finals after comfortable 4-1 and 2-0 wins over Jamaican clubs Arnett Gardens and Mount Pleasant FA in their final Group A fixtures on Thursday.

  A brace from Jalmaro Calvin (35th and 71st) and one each from Shaquille Stein (29th) and Dwayne ‘Busy’ Atkinson (59th) brought Cavalier from behind to top Arnett Gardens, who took an early ninth-minute lead through captain Shai Smith.

  With the win, Cavalier, the reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions, consolidated the top spot with nine points, one ahead of Real Hope, who had a brace from Angelo Exilus (12th and 77th) to deny Mount Pleasant in the battle for the runner-up position.

  Trinidad and Tobago’s Police FC (five points), Mount Pleasant (four points), and Arnett Gardens (one point) completed the table.

  Cavalier will square off against Dominican Republic’s Moca FC in one semi-final, while Real Hope will lock horns against the other Dominican Republic outfit, Cibao FC, in the other. The semifinal date is yet to be confirmed.

  Despite already having a spot in the final four, Cavalier FC were in no mood to relent and duly took apart Arnett Gardens at the National Stadium.

  It was Arnett Gardens though that showed more purpose at the start as they sought to salvage some pride to end their campaign on a high. The ‘Junglists’ seemed on their way to achieving that feat when Smith connected with a pass from Marlon Allen and fired past Vino Barclett inside 10 minutes.

  However, Xavier Gilbert’s side lost focus after taking the lead and were completely outplayed by Cavalier, who pulled level through Stein, who met Atkinson’s corner kick and slotted home at Roje Williams’ near post.

  

  Real Hope's Angelo Exilus celebrate one of his two goals against Mount Pleasant.

  Calvin then put Cavalier in front six minutes later with a tidy header past Williams from Jaheem Frazer’s weighted cross as they went to the break 2-1 up.

  Cavalier picked up where they left off after the interval as Atkinson won possession deep in Arnett Gardens quarters and rounded the hapless Williams to slot home his team’s third.

  Calvin later completed his brace with a tidy right-footed finish to cap Cavalier’s victory.

  Meanwhile, a short distance away at Sabina Park, Mount Pleasant were also slow to get into stride, but unlike Cavalier, they couldn’t get back to Real Hope.

  After Daniel Saint Fleur’s fourth-minute effort came back off the left upright, Exilus eventually broke the deadlock for the visitors with an easy tap-in from Watz Leazard’s pass.

  Mount Pleasant tried to mount a comeback and had two decent efforts through Devonte Campbell and Sue-Lae McCalla in the 33rd and 49th minutes, but Real Hope’s custodian Gooly Elien came up big on both occasions to deny their host.

  Raheem Edwards also went close for Mount Pleasant in the 70th, but he too failed to beat Elien’s glove.

  With the equaliser proving elusive for Mount Pleasant, Exilus eventually found another open and made no mistakes from close range to secure the crucial win for his team.

• Hurzeler keen to show response after learning from first Brighton loss

  Fabian Hurzeler said Brighton will learn from their first loss under him as they aim to bounce back against Tottenham in the Premier League.

  The Seagulls had enjoyed an unbeaten start under the German in all competitions, going unbeaten in his first seven matches.

  However, after winning their opening two Premier League games, they drew three in a row before suffering that 4-2 defeat to Chelsea last weekend.

  Hurzeler was not shying away from the poor result though, instead looking for the positives they can build on before the international break.

  "It's very important after defeat that you are honest to yourself, you reflect on yourself, what was good, what was not good in the game," Hurzeler said.

  "If you lose a game, of course, there are more negative points.

  "But there were also some positive things. In the end, we have to learn from it; I have to learn from it because I was the responsible person for the match plan and the match plan wasn't good enough. Now we try to show a reaction."

  Meanwhile, Spurs have won their last five matches in all competitions, impressively brushing aside Manchester United 3-0 in the Premier League last weekend before beating Ferencvaros 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.

  They will most likely be without captain Son Heung-min again for the trip to Brighton, but Ange Postecoglou believes Spurs are settling into the style of play.

  "It is always a shifting measurement," he said. "Any time you go on a consistent run of form - and I think we have been consistent all year, but the results in the past five games have rewarded the performances.

  "We are a developing side, still very much a young side. The squad is still developing together, so it suggests whatever markers we set we should be able to exceed.

  "We have had belief, the energy accelerates, and the key is to keep it going. You don't want to let it go."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Brighton – Carlos Baleba

  After not scoring or assisting in any of his first 31 Premier League appearances, Carlos Baleba scored and assisted in their 4-2 defeat to Chelsea.

  He is the youngest Cameroonian to both score and assist in a Premier League match (20 years, 269 days).

  Tottenham – Dominic Solanke

  Since the start of last season, the only Englishmen with more Premier League goals than Dominic Solanke (21) are Cole Palmer (28) and Ollie Watkins (23).

  The Spurs forward is looking to find the net in three consecutive appearances for the first time since December 2023 before heading to meet up with England during the international break.

  MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

  Just one of the 14 Premier League meetings between Brighton and Tottenham has finished as a draw (1-1 in April 2018), with Spurs winning nine to the Seagulls' four.

  However, after losing consecutive Premier League home games against Spurs without scoring in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Brighton won this exact fixture 4-2 last season.

  Brighton won six of their first 10 Premier League games in October (D2 L2) between 2017 and 2019 but have since won just one out of 16 October games since 2020 (D9 L6), a 4-1 win over Chelsea in 2022.

  And given recent form, that run may continue, as the Seagulls have drawn their last two home Premier League matches, last drawing three in a row in November 2023. Indeed, since the start of last season, no side has drawn more home games than Brighton (8).

  Tottenham, meanwhile, have won their last two Premier League games, last winning three in a row in December last year. Spurs have netted three goals in each victory (3-1 vs Brentford, 3-0 vs Man Utd), but have not won three consecutively while scoring 3+ goals since April 2022.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Brighton – 34.2%

  Draw – 23.9%

  Tottenham – 42%