Tottenham Hotspur will close out their pre-season schedule this weekend with back-to-back friendlies against Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, as manager Roberto De Zerbi puts the finishing touches on his squad ahead of the Premier League campaign.
The first of the two fixtures takes place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, August 15, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm BST. The match will be shown on SPURSPLAY. A second, behind-closed-doors encounter between the two clubs will follow on Sunday at Hotspur Way, giving De Zerbi the chance to rotate his squad across two separate lineups as he builds fitness levels league-wide before the season opener.
Spurs head into the weekend still unbeaten in pre-season, though their perfect run was interrupted last Saturday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe in a 70-minute, closed-doors friendly. New arrivals Mateus Fernandes and Marcos Senesi were not involved in that match but did feature in an in-house friendly staged later the same day.
Despite the club working through two fixtures on the same day last weekend, several key absences remain a point of concern for De Zerbi as the new campaign approaches. Chief among them is the club's ongoing cautious management of a player continuing his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for the majority of last season.
Micky van de Ven, another player under consideration for the captaincy after recently agreeing a lucrative new contract, has similarly been left out of recent squads following his return from an extended break after the World Cup. It remains unclear whether the Dutch defender is dealing with a fitness issue, though De Zerbi will be hopeful of involving him in some capacity over the weekend's fixtures.
Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie are also being carefully managed after each missed substantial portions of last season through injury, with the coaching staff keen to avoid any setbacks so close to the start of the new campaign.
On a more positive note, De Zerbi is expected to have World Cup winner Pedro Porro available after the Spaniard was given a guard of honour upon returning to the club's training base earlier this week.
Perhaps the most significant boost, however, could come in attack. Mohammed Kudus is closing in on a first appearance since January after resuming full training following a serious quad injury. De Zerbi has previously admitted the club rushed Kudus back into contention too soon, resulting in a setback in his recovery back in April. The winger is now reported to be nearing full fitness, which would represent a major lift for Tottenham's attacking options heading into the new season.
For Saturday's fixture, the predicted starting lineup is: Kinsky, Gray, Van Hecke, Senesi, Robertson, Fernandes, Tonali, Maddison, Kudus, Richarlison, Tel.
With the Premier League season kicking off next weekend, this double-header against Hoffenheim represents Tottenham's final opportunity to fine-tune their squad, manage returning players back to full fitness, and settle on a starting group before competitive action resumes.
Based on reporting from standard-football.