Against Chelsea on Sunday, Jose Mourinho was sprung a surprise by his former player Frank Lampard.

The former Derby boss switched his team from their usual 4-3-3 formation – used nine times already this season – to a lesser seen 3-4-2-1 system which the Blues have only deployed twice this term.

Despite that, Lampard’s move worked wonders as Tottenham were limited to just one shot on target throughout the match, while Chelsea laughed their way back to west London with a simple three points in the bag.

Interestingly, there are similarities to be drawn between what Chelsea did and what Thursday’s opponents Brighton could do.

Graham Potter’s side are also well-trained in a formation similar to the one that saw Lampard emerge victorious over Mourinho.

The Seagulls have deployed a 3-4-3 system on six occasions this season, their most used tactic ahead of the 4-4-2, which has been used five times.

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Incidentally, Brighton have also used the following formations at least once this season:

4-2-3-1

4-3-2-1

4-3-3

3-5-1-1

4-1-2-1-2

3-4-2-1

It is evident that Potter has made his players tactically fluid having used eight different shapes in 18 Premier League games this term, which means that they could spring any formation on Mourinho when Boxing Day arrives.

The one major worry should be this: if Brighton also deploy a three-man centre-back shape, Harry Kane may find himself isolated again.

The England international struggled on his own against Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma, taking just one shot on target while also recording four unsuccessful touches on a day where it seemed like his nearest teammate was always miles away from him.

To combat this, we think that Mourinho should switch to a 3-5-2 formation, which would see Dele Alli join Kane in attack as somewhat of a support striker/centre-forward, providing a link to the Tottenham No.10 and the rest of the team.

With Kane potentially up against 6 foot 4 Lewis Dunk, 6 foot 7 Dan Burn and 6 foot 3 Adam Webster – all of whom started last time out against Sheffield United – the possibility of him once again being bullied out of the game is certainly there.

By moving Alli closer to him, Mourinho would at least be providing somewhat of a joint between his star man and the rest of the team, something that will also be vital in the pacey Heung-min Son’s absence through suspension.

In other news, these Tottenham fans were concerned by one thing in particular after the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea…