Tottenham Hotspur get their 2023-24 Premier League campaign underway on Sunday with a trip to Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford.
After a summer of transfer talk, Harry Kane—the most prolific English striker of recent times—is no longer with Spurs following his move to Bayern. So, new boss Ange Postecoglou will travel to west London without his star striker, hoping the fresh faces he has roped in this ongoing summer transfer window hit the ground running.
During the pre-season break, Tottenham played five friendlies and emerged victorious in three of them. They wrapped up their preparations with a 4-2 defeat to Barcelona in the final of the Joan Gamper Trophy.
Tottenham Team News
Tottenham enter the new season with a number of first-team players out injured. Rodrigo Bentancur and Bryan Gil are long-term absentees, with the latter set to miss the start of the season due to groin surgery, while Ryan Sessegnon, Fraser Forster and Tanguy Ndombele also remain out.
Sergio Reguilon picked up a knock late in the pre-season defeat to Barcelona, however, it is yet to be confirmed by the club.
Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Brentford (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Long-time No. 1 Hugo Lloris might leave the club this summer, so new arrival Guglielmo Vicario will be in between the sticks for Spurs against Brentford. Having arrived from Empoli, Vicario suits the way Ange Postecoglou wants his team to play, as he is strong with the ball at his feet and has the ability to launch quick counterattacks.
Defence
Postecoglou set his team up in a 4-3-3 shape for most of the pre-season and he is likely to stick with the same formation against Brentford. Cristian Romero is the most assured of the centre-backs from the current roster. He is a certainty to start, with the versatile Ben Davies set to partner the Argentinean in central defence.
Tottenham have bolstered their defensive options by signing Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg, but the young Dutchman is expected to be on the bench at the weekend. In Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, Tottenham Hotspur have two attacking full-backs in their lineup who will look to complement the Spurs attackers with their overlapping and underlapping runs.
Midfield
Yves Bissouma is expected to hold Spurs’ midfield, with Postecoglou likely to trust the Malian to screen the backline and break up the opposition’s attacks. James Maddison and Giovani Lo Celso will start as No.8s in the Tottenham Hotspur lineup, looking to dictate play in the middle of the park and carve Brentford open with their incisive passing and flair.
Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Brentford
The trio of Bissouma, Lo Celso and Maddison have to be at their best to dominate Brentford’s strong midfield, which is likely to consist of Vitali Janelt, Mathias Jensen and Frank Onyeka.
Attack
With Kane no longer at the club, the door is open for Richarlison to take up the No.9 role in the Tottenham Hotspur lineup.
Richarlison had a forgettable debut campaign at Spurs, but after a productive pre-season, he will be raring to go in the new campaign. Son and Kulusevski will take up the wide positions in Spurs’ attack, hoping to create their magic and feed Richarlison in the box.
In Manor Solomon, Postecoglou will have an attacking option on the bench that could make a huge impact against Brentford.
