Tottenham Hotspur have played two preseason games already this summer, but their preparation for the new season really gets underway in earnest on
Wednesday.
Spurs play the first of two Barclays Asia Trophy games against Sunderland, then will play in either the final or third place game depending on the result.
All of the players who were given the first week of training off because of international commitments are back in the team, while Sandro and Younes Kaboul have recovered from their injuries to the point where they're back in full training. While they may not get to play on
Wednesday, they're in the squad and very well could suit up.
Sunderland has had a busy transfer window and Roker Report's been all over it. If you have any passing interest in Sunderland, check them out. They don't have a post up on the game as of my posting, but it's worth noting that most of Sunderland's new signings are in their squad: Modibo Diakite, Valentin Roberge, El-Hadji Ba, David Moberg Karlsson, Cabral and Jozy Altidore. Emanuele Giaccherini wasn't in their initial squad, but he's training with them in Hong Kong, so he might play.
Squad
Goalkeepers
Hugo Lloris, Brad Friedel, Heurelho Gomes
Defenders
Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jan Vertonghen, Michael Dawson, Steven Caulker, Younes Kaboul, Danny Rose
Midfielders
Aaron Lennon, Andros Townsend, Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Scott Parker, Jake Livermore, Tom Carroll, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lewis Holtby, Clint Dempsey
Forwards
Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor
You may notice that Paulinho and Nacer Chadli aren't in this squad. I assume their debuts will come during the Espanyol friendly after the team returns from Asia in August. Then again, they might just end up suiting up if they're fit and Andre Villas-Boas feels like letting them play. I can't imagine this preseason tournament has strict squad rules. That's not exactly clear. They're with the team, but they weren't in the "announced squad". If Giaccherini is playing, why can't they?
Projected Tottenham Hotspur lineup (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris; Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jan Vertonghen, Michael Dawson, Kyle Walker; Scott Parker, Mousa Dembele, Lewis Holtby; Clint Dempsey, Emmanuel Adebayor, Andros Townsend
Gareth Bale has already been confirmed as out for this game with an unspecified knock. Aaron Lennon sat out the Colchester game for the same reason, so I'm not picking him in the starting XI. I hope that Younes Kaboul and Sandro get short run-outs, but they're probably not fit to start, though that's pure speculation on my part. This represents what I guess the starting XI would be if there was a competitive match tomorrow. Given that this is preseason, all bets are off and there's a very good chance we could see younger players.
Match date/time: Wednesday, 11 a.m. UK,
6 a.m. ET
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium,
So Kon Po, Hong Kong
