There were few positives for Tottenham Hotspur to take from last weekend's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa but the performance of the returning Yves Bissouma was one of them.

Harry Kane's late penalty wasn't enough for Spurs to salvage anything in the Midlands in a result which puts Unai Emery's side level on points with the Lilywhites in eighth position in the Premier League.

If Spurs want to avoid the Europa Conference League next season and ensure that they're playing in the more prestigious Europa League, then they will likely need positive results against Brentford and Leeds United in their final two games of the campaign.

Ryan Mason will be keen to finish his interim spell with a flourish, so he must surely consider handing the returning Bissouma a start against the Bees at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon.

Should Bissouma start vs Brentford?

It has been a frustrating first season in Tottenham colours for the 26-year-old, having joined the club from Brighton in a deal worth £25m last summer.

The Mali international, who was described as an "absolute monster" by journalist Aaron Stokes in 2021, has struggled with injury problems throughout the campaign, which has limited him to just eight starts and 13 substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this term.

After three months on the sidelines, he made his return in the 2-1 defeat against Villa last time out and was described as the "only real positive" by the Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare, which suggests that he is pushing for a start today.

Mason also spoke in his pre-match conference about Bissouma's fitness and hinted that he could feature heavily in the final two games of the campaign.

"Obviously he's had a few injuries this season that have probably halted his progress, but there are two games now and I can feel the excitement from him that he's back out on the training pitch and he's out there playing and he feels like he can help the team and hopefully he can do that," he said.

While Spurs fans might be disappointed to have seen so little from Bissouma this season, his performances last season with the Seagulls saw him earn a strong 6.99 average rating from WhoScored, which would be enough to rank him as the fourth-best player in Spurs' squad this term.

The same website also suggests that he excels at ball interceptions, passing, tackling and concentration, all of which make him stand out as a great defensive-minded option, which could help to improve Spurs' woeful defensive record in the final two games.

Bissouma will surely be an exciting option for next season when Spurs will hopefully have the right manager that can take the club in a positive direction.

In the meantime, though, Spurs must focus on playing to their highest level against Brentford today and after his impressive cameo against Villa, it is surely time that Bissouma was handed a rare Premier League start in a bid to dominate the Bees.