What Romero did to Lamptey, Bentancur wows the crowd - 5 things spotted in Tottenham vs Brighton

Antonio Conte certainly wasn't taking any chances with his Tottenham team selection for the FA Cup game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

While many of their rivals choose to rotate a number of their players in cup competition given the importance of their league fixtures, the Italian practically went with his strongest team.

However, there was no Oliver Skipp due to a groin injury and Eric Dier missed out on the matchday 20 altogether.

The ex-Sporting CP's absence was actually down to the thigh issue he sustained prior to the recent international break, with Conte leaving him out as a precautionary measure with league games coming up against Southampton and Wolves next week.

Spurs may have been short on options at the back in recent weeks but Cristian Romero's return from a hamstring problem helped soften the blow.

Conte has had to wait rather a long time to have Romero available for selection once again due to the hamstring injury he sustained on Argentina international duty back in November.

Starting in the head coach's first two games as boss after Nuno Espirito Santo's exit, the Atalanta loanee has not featured since the 0-0 draw away at Everton.

Playing on the right of a three-man defence against the Toffees and Vitesse, Romero took on a different role for the Brighton & Hove Albion FA Cup tie.

Rather than opting for either Davinson Sanchez or Joe Rodon at the heart of defence in Dier's absence, the summer signing got the nod there and made an instant impact.

This was evident with only 17 minutes on the clock as he produced a crunching tackle on Tariq Lamptey to send the Brighton ace flying as he looked to advance into the box, which duly earned a big cheer from the home crowd.

Aggressive in his defending and