Spurs aiming for hat-trick of pre-season wins before Chelsea showdown
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Sydney FC vs Tottenham LIVE
Sydney FC are Tottenham’s opponents in the Sydney Super Cup as Roberto De Zerbi’s side continue their pre-season campaign Down Under this morning. Spurs beat Auckland FC 2-0 in their first game at Eden Park on Sunday, with Richarlison and Dane Scarlett both on the scoresheet. Sandro Tonali will be hoping for his first minutes of the trip after missing that victory with a minor undisclosed issue, while fellow new recruit Mateus Fernandes will also look to be involved after new injury fears around him were dismissed.
This will technically be the third friendly Spurs have played this summer, having also beaten Milton Keynes in a behind-closed-doors affair before they flew across the world. Tottenham face Chelsea on Saturday but first take on the team who finished fourth in the Australian A-League last term, and they will play in front of a sell-out Allianz Stadium crowd in New South Wales.
Andy Robertson and Jan Paul van Hecke will also be hoping for first minutes in their new colours after respective summer switches from Liverpool and Brighton. Keep up to date with all the latest action from Sydney with our live blog below.
Sydney FC vs Tottenham latest news
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Why is Fernandes not playing for Spurs?
Mateus Fernandes has been left out of Tottenham’s squad for their pre-season friendly against Sydney FC on Wednesday.
The Portuguese midfielder, who has played in each of Spurs’ first two pre-season games following his £85million move from West Ham, was seen in a recent video standing on the sidelines as the rest of the squad trained in Australia, raising concerns that he had suffered an injury.
Those fears, though, have reportedly been allayed with head coach Roberto De Zerbi carefully managing the minutes of several first-team players during a busy summer tour.
Destiny Udogie, James Maddison and Jan Paul van Hecke have all also been left out of Spurs’ squad for Wednesday’s game against A-League opposition at Allianz Stadium.
Read more here!
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De Zerbi issues youngsters challenge
“Archie is young, but he's an old player, as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience, as a career,” the Spurs boss said of today’s captain.
“But the young players have to push, because with me as a coach, they have the chance to play. Logically, they have to show me they are ready, they have qualities, they have a mentality to play in this club.
“But when I decide the players, when I decide the squad, I never see the age of the players.”
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De Zerbi explains Maddison absence
De Zerbi named a youthful starting lineup against Auckland featuring eight academy graduates and Archie Gray wore the captain’s armband.
But there was no room for James Maddison, who continues his return from an ACL injury.
“He's not working the last five days, I think, like Udogie, but they have not a big problem, just to stay focused, don't take any risks and then for the next game, the next friendly game against Sydney.
“Maybe we play with Tonali, with other players, maybe, we've got to see.”
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Around the ground
The stage is set in Sydney!
No Fernandes!
A bit of a surprise, as we expected the Portuguese to be on the bench here, but he is not involved at all in the matchday squad.
It’s believed to just be a precautionary measure from De Zerbi to manage the summer signing’s load after a long flight and two starts against Milton Keynes and Auckland.
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Sydney FC lineup
Here’s how the hosts lineup this morning...
Tottenham lineup
Tottenham XI: Dubravka; Kyerematen, Davies, Hardy, Hall; Gray, Bergvall; Solomon, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison
Subs: Kinsky, Robertson, Takai, Tingey, Byrne, Tyrese Hall, Russell-Denny, Donley, Tonali, Ajayi, Yang, Williams-Barnett, Scarlett
Spurs predicted XI
Who will start for Spurs this morning?
Sam Tabuteau had a stab at predicting the lineup...
Find out here!
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