The Premier League is back and Tottenham Hotspur kick off a new era under newly appointed Australian manager Ange Postecoglou but there is a catch – they no longer have the services of Harry Kane who has agreed on a transfer to Bayern Munich. Their first game of this post-Kane era would seem them take on Thomas Frank’s Brentford who are generally a very tricky team to face. The Bees always find a way to win against teams they are considered underdogs against and this game will be no different.
Spurs have lost their opening game only once in the last seven seasons and would hope to continue the good streak. Brentford on the other hand have not lost either of their opening matchday games since their promotion to the English top-flight.
Postecoglou is set to become the first Australian manager to take charge of a game in the Premier League and will be looking to start off on a good note. Just one of Tottenham’s previous 10 managers have lost their first game in charge (Andre Villas-Boas vs Newcastle United in 2012) and the former Celtic manager will not want to join him.
The two teams faced off twice in the Premier League last season. The first time they met was in December last year and the two teams shared spoils in a closely-contested 2-2 draw. The Bees won 3-1 against Spurs the second time in May and Tottenham will be hoping to improve their record against them.
When & Where?
Brentford vs Tottenham is scheduled for a 1 pm GMT kick-off on Sunday, August 13, 2023. The match will take place at the Gtech Community Stadium, which is home to the Bees.
Match Officials
The match is set to be refereed by Robert Jones who will be assisted by Ian Hussin and Wade Smith. The fourth official will be Jarred Gillett and Tony Harrington will be in-charge of VAR.
Team News
Brentford
Thomas Frank confirmed that both Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard would be ready to be in the starting XI against Tottenham. However, Frank Onyeka will have to undergo a late fitness test to ascertain his condition after suffering an injury against French side Lille last weekend.
Rico Henry and Josh Dasilva are both fit and ready to go with Frank even confirming that the former would start against Spurs. David Raya will no longer be a part of the Bees after agreeing a deal to join Arsenal. Elsewhere, Ivan Toney is still suspended.
Tottenham Hotspur
Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur and Fraser Forster are all expected to sit this one out due to various injuries that they are recuperating from.
Micky van de Ven, despite agreeing a move to Tottenham might not be ready to make his debut yet. He is likely to have to wait until next weekend before playing his first minutes as a Lilywhite.
Match Analysis
Brentford
Brentford are likely to lineup in their trademark 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 although it has been the latter for much of the pre-season. In the absence of Ivan Toney, who is suspended due to links with betting, Yoane Wissa is likely to play as the striker.
Brentford’s most dangerous player though will have to be Bryan Mbeumo who was sensational for Thomas Frank’s side with 17 goal contributions. Frank could choose to play Mbeumo and Wissa as a duo at the top.
The Bees have signed Mark Flekken from Freiburg and he is set to replace Spaniard David Raya who joined Arsenal. In terms of profile, the Dutchman is very similar to Raya and he seems to have settled into the team pretty well. They have also made a very interesting signing in Nathan Collins from Wolves.
Tottenham
Postecoglou has lined up in a 4-2-3-1 for much of the pre-season and the style of play is a stark contrast from the pragmatic boring approach that we saw under Antonio Conte and previously Jose Mourinho.
Some of Tottenham’s passing sequences have been a delight to watch and the Australian can build on an impressive pre-season. James Maddison is in line to make his debut in the attacking-midfield role.
Destiny Udogie had a very impressive pre-season and is likely to be the starting left-back ahead of Sergio Reguilon. The Italian will be hoping to build on his initial performances and make this position his own.
With the club no longer having Harry Kane, Richarlison is likely to be the starting number-nine and it is time for the Brazilian to step up and show why Tottenham must bet on him in the long run. One more debut on the cards is Guglielmo Vicario.
Predicted Lineups
Brentford predicted lineup vs Tottenham: Mark Frekkel; Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee, Rico Henry; Christian Norgaard, Mikel Daamsgard, Mathias Jensen; Bryan Mbuemo, Yoane Wissa, Kevin Schade.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Brentford: Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Destiny Udogie; Yves Bissouma, Oliver Skipp; Son Heung-Min, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski; Richarlison.
