Roberto De Zerbi has warned Tottenham are not too big to go down and must adopt a positive approach if they are to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Spurs face De Zerbi's former club Brighton on Saturday, having dropped into the relegation zone following a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in their first game under the Italian.

Tottenham are now winless in 14 Premier League matches (D5 L9), the second-longest such run in their league history (16 between December 1934 and April 1935). 

They are two points behind 17th-placed West Ham and the Opta supercomputer makes them favourites for relegation, with 49.1% of season simulations seeing them drop to the second tier.

Asked if nerves were affecting Spurs' performances, De Zerbi said: "You can see it during the game. First of all, the players are all good guys, and they are suffering at this moment. 

"They are not happy when we lose the game and they are not happy to see Tottenham at the bottom of the table, for sure, but we have to find the energy, we have to find the right spirit to be positive. 

"During the week when they are with me, for sure, they will see a positive coach because I believe in their qualities. 

"We are Tottenham, but we are not going to win the games just because we are Tottenham. You can't win the games on the paper. 

"You have to win the games by showing quality on the pitch, by fighting on the pitch. But they are human, and they are suffering maybe too much and altogether we have to stay close, to be positive."

De Zerbi's former club Brighton are flying high, by contrast, with Saturday's 2-0 win at Burnley boosting their European hopes.

They sit ninth in the table ahead of their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and defender Olivier Boscagli told BBC Radio Sussex they are not interested in doing their former head coach any favours.

"It's a nice game for him because he knows the club really well and he has a really good image at this club. I can see he did a lot of good things here, but now he is at another club," Boscagli said.

"Of course, he will be happy to see some faces and some of the players will be happy to see him, but at the first whistle there will be no friends on the pitch.

"The only thing we want is to win the game and it doesn't matter with who or against who."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham – Kevin Danso

With Tottenham captain Cristian Romero set to miss the rest of the season with the knee injury that forced him off in tears at Sunderland, the hosts need a solution at centre-back.

Besides Romero, Danso is the only Spurs defender to play over five games and win over 60% of his aerial duels this season (68.9%, 91/132, in all competitions).

Brighton – Pascal Gross

Since his first start after returning to Brighton, on January 7, only three players have created more chances in the Premier League than Gross (24).

The German also ranks second for passes into the box (108), behind Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (139), and is top for successful crosses (28).

MATCH PREDICTION – BRIGHTON WIN

This will be De Zerbi’s first home Premier League game in charge of Tottenham, only one of the previous 13 managers to take charge of Spurs have lost their first home game.

However, that defeat came under the Italian's immediate predecessor Igor Tudor, in February against Arsenal. 

Spurs have lost their last four home games, only losing five in a row once in their league history, back in February 1994.

Brighton, meanwhile, have won their last three away Premier League games – they have never won four in a row in the top flight before. 

The Seagulls have also kept a clean sheet in all three wins, last winning four on the bounce on the road in the league without conceding in March 2011, in League One.

And while Brighton have won five of their last six league games overall (L1), Spurs have only won one of their last 26 Premier League matches played across the months of January, February, March, April and May (D7 L18), failing to win any of their last 21.  

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Tottenham – 31.8%

Brighton – 42.9%

Draw – 25.3%