Match Preview: Spurs v Brentford
Spurs travel to Brentford for their opening match of this premier league campaign. Brentford was extremely good at home last year so it will be a challenging start to the season for Tottenham. Spurs are ushering in the post-Kane era with Postecoglu at the wheel and Sonny as the club captain. A lot of question marks as to what the lineup will be this weekend with so much change going on in and around the club. Let’s take a look at what my preferred lineup would be for the match.
GK: Vicario. An important debut for the Italian. I am definitely going to be watching him closely as he looked a bit jittery in preseason. His distribution will be crucial in this system and I look forward to seeing him in a competitive match.
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Full Backs: Udogie and Emerson. Udogie is a no-brainer for me. A young electric and talented full-back who has all the potential in the world. He had an impressive pre-season and I want to see him make his first start tomorrow. As for Emerson, I prefer him over Porro in the back four
because he has been trustworthy in defense for some time. He provides balance to Udogie who is more attack-minded and I believe he will continue to improve over the course of this season.
Center Backs: Romero and Van Den Ven. Romero has been our best defender throughout the past two seasons so Ange should not think twice about putting him in the team and I am certain he will start. Van Den Ven will become a regular starter as well but this weekend is a bit of a question mark because he has just arrived. Ange has told us he is up for selection so I would not hesitate to get him in the team as soon as possible. I am eager to see what he has to offer and we have been starving to see new defenders.
(Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfield: Bissouma, Skipp, and Maddison. Bissouma and Maddison seem like heavy favorites to start this weekend. Ange seems to love both players and I was really impressed with them in preseason. The two of them in the same midfield is a wonderful combo that I think will be perfect for Tottenham. The third midfield spot was the spot in the team that I struggled with the most. I settled on Oliver Skipp. I have always been one of Skipps’ loudest supporters and I think his performance against Barca has earned him a start this weekend. He is a more defensive option and I think for Brentford away it is understandable to go a bit more defensive. I like how he looked in possession throughout the preseason and of course, he always plays for the badge. I don’t think he will start consistently this year but in games where we need more defensive backing, I think he is the support that we will need.
Front Three: Son, Richarlison, and Kulusevski. Son was just named captain of the club and I think this is the start of a wonderful season for the Korean International. I think he will thrive under Ange and I hope he scores tomorrow to mark what will be a special day for him. I am proud to have him as our captain. As for Richarlison if he is healthy we need him leading the line. The Brazillian is so good when he has confidence and I think the lack of game time last year hurt him. I want to see what he can do when starting at the 9 and I think he deserves it as well. Kulu is on a bit of thin ice for me, as I can’t particularly remember the last time I saw him put in a top performance. However, I think he deserves a start and a chance to kick off the season well but if he continues to not be as effective I would turn to the bench fairly quickly. That being said we all know there is a player there and I hope he can recapture some of that magic we saw in 2022.
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Bench: Forster, Davies, Sanchez, Reguilon, Porro, Sarr, Lo Celso, Perisic, Solomon. I think Ben Davies is the most likely out of this group to earn a start. As for substitutes, I think Lo Celso and Perisic will see minutes as they both had brilliant pre-seasons and should get a lot of runs this
season. I would also like to see a bit of Solomon in the prem as he eyes Kulusevski’s spot in the lineup. Similarly, Sarr easily could have started in place of Skipp so I would love to see him kick off his campaign as well. PEH did not make my squad as it is looking more likely he will leave this summer, and the same goes for Tanguy Ndombele. Veliz and Phillips do not feature as they are developmental pieces for now although I hope to see them feature more in the latter half of the season.
Prediction: Tottenham 3–1 Brentford
