Spurs will take on newly-promoted Premier League side Aston Villa during the first gameweek of the 2019-20 season at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Last season, Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the Premier League table and if that wasn’t enough then they also suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Liverpool in the Champions League final.
But clearly, Daniel Levy looks unphased by all this chaos as there has been minimal transfer activity in the club and the only big signing this summer has been that of Tanguy Ndombélé from Lyon.
On the other hand, Spurs have let the likes of Kieran Trippier, Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen leave the club without trying to bring in proper replacements before the new season kicks off.
Spurs team news vs Aston Villa:
The bookmakers are clearly predicting this game to be an easy three points for Spurs but the manager has a long list of absentees which could give a serious boost to Villa going into the match.
Dele Alli is set to miss the opening game of the season despite the Spurs manager claiming that the injury sustained by the England international is minor.
“I don’t believe Dele is going to arrive for the start of the season,” Pochettino told the Guardian.
“I think it’s the same area [as previous injuries]. We are worried. He is still only 23 and has had many hamstring problems in the last few years. He needs to pay attention a little bit about what is going on in his body but we are here to help him. It is a minor injury and in a few more weeks we hope he will be ready.”
And this could be a big headache for Pochettino since Son too will miss this match due to the red card he picked up in the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at the end of last season.
The absence of both Alli and Son means that Moura and Harry Kane will be deployed upfront while Eric Lamela plays as the link between midfield and the attackers.
Last season, Harry Kane managed to score 17 goals in the Premier League for the Lilywhites but Pochettino, as well as the Spurs fans, will be hoping that their club captain can get his hands on the Golden Boot after missing out last season.
Serge Aurier is recovering from an injury and the manager had claimed back in July that he would take some time to make a full recovery.
“Has undergone surgery to a hand injury. Undertaking a period of non-contact training before reintegrating with the first team.” Pochettinho had said.
And as per the latest reports, Aurier is not likely to feature in the first XI for Spurs this weekend and the same stands true for Ben Davies who underwent groin surgery back in June.
Juan Foyth picked up an ankle injury during the pre-season and the club has confirmed that the youngster will miss the opening two games of the 2019-20 season.
An official statement read: “The Argentina international, who will miss the opening two games of the season due to suspension, will now undergo a period of rehabilitation and is expected to return to training in September.”
Spurs predicted line-up vs Villa:
Starting XI: Lloris; Rose, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Walker-Peters; Ndombele, Winks, Sissoko; Lamela, Moura, Harry Kane.
