Inside Futbol

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Fixture: Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolves

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 20:00 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur have officially announced their starting lineup and substitutes to welcome strugglers Wolves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening – read our match preview here.

Spurs have shown bright signs under new boss Thomas Frank, with ten points collected from their opening five Premier League games.

Goals have also flowed, with ten goals scored and just three conceded, something which will make Spurs firm favourites to see off Wolves tonight.

Spurs remain without Randal Kolo Muani though, as he has a dead leg.

Wolves arrive sitting rock bottom of the table, but having given a vote of confidence to manager Vitor Pereira as he tries to turn things around.

Pereira will take some encouragement from Wolves’ recent record against Tottenham, with his side having lost none of the last five meetings, winning four of those.

Wolves also arrive boosted from a 2-0 win over Everton in the EFL Cup earlier this week, but they will still start as big underdogs in north London.

Tottenham have Guglielmo Vicario in goal this evening, while at the back Frank goes with Djed Spence, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie.

Midfield sees Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur look to win the battles, while also selected is Lucas Bergvall.

Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus will join Richarlison in looking to be a goal threat.

If Frank needs to shake things up during the 90 minutes by using his substitutes then he has options and they include Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Wolves

Vicario, Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Palhinha, Bentancur, Bergvall, Simons, Kudus, Richarlison

Substitutes: Kinsky, Danso, Tel, Gray, Johnson, Porro, Odobert, Sarr, Scarlett

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Fixture: Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolves

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 27th September, 20:00 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves have managed contrasting starts to their respective domestic seasons, currently finding themselves at either ends of the league table. Tottenham’s only loss came against Bournemouth back in August, while Wolves keep searching for their elusive first win of the season.

If those statistics are to be kept in mind, it should be a relatively easy outing for Thomas Frank and his side. However, it will still be eleven against eleven on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs will have to breach what will be a determined Wolves backline.

Tottenham have been playing free-flowing football under Frank and the 4-3-3 formation has allowed them to do that. The three-man attack provides no reprieve to the opposition defenders, who must contend with multiple threats simultaneously.

There is though no Randal Kolo Muani, who remains out with a dead leg.

Given how shaky Wolves’ defence has looked recently, all the suggestions are that it will break down at some point in the course of the game. What is optimally important is that they are not perturbed and look to strike back. They are still fresh off a 2-0 win against Everton in the EFL Cup, with a full squad available, and that winning feeling could help.

However, Wolves have desperately missed Matheus Cunha, who left for Manchester United in the summer. The bulk of pressure has hence shifted to Jorgen Strand-Larsen, who is yet to get going.

Predicted Lineups

Tottenham Hotspur Wolves Vicario Sa Porro Gomes Romero Mosquera Van de Ven S Bueno Spence Tchatchoua Bentancur Andre Palhinha Joao Gomes Bergvall R Gomes Simons Lopez Kudus Bellegard Richarlison Strand Larsen Predicted lineups

Recent Form (league)

Tottenham Hotspur: DWLWW

Wolves: LLLLL

Key Men

Tottenham Hotspur

Under Frank, Brazilian forward Richarlison has rediscovered his form. He has been leading the Spurs line this season and has three goals to show for his efforts, along with an assist.

Against an already suffering Wolves side, he could find more than one chance to add to his tally and raise his stock ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Yet another player who has quickly gone on to become a fan favourite, is summer signing from West Ham – Mohammed Kudus. Coming from the flanks, Kudus has helped set up four goals for his team-mates and has the ability to beat full-backs with his pace and skills on the ball.

Yet another of Frank’s summer signings, Joao Palhinha, has also been important for the team and his capture already looks like a shrewd piece of business.

Wolves

On the lookout for their first points of the season, Wolves will take anything but a loss; the onus on the night will be on their two central defenders.

Vitor Pereira has tried multiple combinations at the back but can turn to his young Colombian defender, Yerson Mosquera, again when the daunting challenge beckons him. He is expected to be partnered by a relatively more experienced Toti Gomes, who has been through the club’s ups and downs in recent years.

At the other end of the pitch, the onus will be on striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has hogged a lot of limelight of late, but is yet to channel the attention onto the pitch. He is yet to open his Premier League goalscoring account this season and there can be no better place to do that than at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Result Competition Wolves 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Wolves Premier League Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Wolves Premier League Last three meetings

Match Prediction

Previous records suggest that Wolves have been tough opponents for Tottenham. They have struggled against them not just once.

In the current situation, though, it is Tottenham who hold an edge over Pereira’s team. They are expected to bombard Wolves with multiple shots and it will definitely be a test of nerves for the visiting manager on the touchline.

Not even the most faithful of Wolves fans will give them a chance to survive and will hope that things do not turn too ugly for them.

Newcomers Leeds United had their chances against a hapless Wolves side last weekend and though they beat Everton midweek, marked improvement will be needed to turn things around against a high-flying Tottenham side.

Inside Futbol Score Prediction

Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Wolves

Where To Watch?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolves will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League, with kick-off at 20:00 UK time.

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Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann has been left mesmerised with the way Tottenham Hotspur‘s players maintain their body and hailed Spurs’ stadium as an amazing place.

Tottenham have made a flying start to the season under new manager Thomas Frank and on Wednesday they faced League One side Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup third round.

The tie allowed Spurs loanee Damola Ageyi to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the player was at a loss for words to explain his feelings after the game.

Joao Palhinha’s early strike gave Tottenham the lead in the 14th minute of the game and their advantage doubled a few minutes later with Jay McGrath’s own goal, while Brennan Johnson’s injury-time goal sealed the game for them.

Doncaster boss McCann revealed that he was impressed with the fitness standard Tottenham Hotspur’s players have maintained, due to which he believes that not a scratch of fat will be found on their body.

He was also amazed with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and pointed out that the away dressing room at Spurs’ ground is bigger than the home dressing room in the Eco-Power Stadium.

“They [supporters] know what sort of task the players had; when you get to this level, you can just see the difference”, McCann told Doncaster Rovers in-house media (6:30).

Player Loan from Connor O’Riordan Blackburn Rovers Charlie Crew Leeds United Damola Ajayi Tottenham Hotspur Thimothee Lo-Tutala Hull City Toyosi Olusanya Houston Dynamo Doncaster Rovers’ loan players

“The pace, the power – every player is lean, like proper lean; there is not a scratch of fat on any of them really and it is a different world. It really is.

“Like, this place is a different world.

“I think my little coach’s office inside the away changing room is bigger than our home inside changing room at the stadium.

“It is just an amazing place.”

Tottenham are in the fourth round of the EFL Cup and they will face Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United, who are the defending champions, at St. James’ Park in October.

Spurs will now shift their focus to the Premier League, as they are set to face Wolves at the weekend and their recent record against the Midlands outfit is not one to brag about, as they last won against them in 2022.

Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has joked he can blame Pape Matar Sarr for Randal Kolo Muani’s injury, after the French forward suffered a dead leg in training.

The France striker joined the north Londoners on transfer deadline day, on a loan deal from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain; he was on loan at Juventus for the second half of last term.

Kolo Muani made his Spurs debut last week in the Champions League against Villarreal, coming off the bench for the final 13 minutes of the game.

The Frenchman, though, will need to continue to wait for his Premier League debut, as he suffered an injury in training following a collision with team-mate Sarr.

Frank joked he can blame Sarr for Kolo Muani being out, before admitting it is just an unfortunate training ground injury that is dragging on.

“[It happened] in training. I think it was Pape who ran into him, so I need to blame Pape”, the Spurs boss joked at a press conference.

“It’s very unfortunate, just a contact injury. It is one of those where they can take a week and then other times it is taking a couple of weeks because it started bleeding again unfortunately.”

Game Result Napoli (A) 2-1 Empoli (H) – two 4-1 Como (A) – two 1-2 Monza (H) 2-0 Lazio (A) 1-1 Venezia (A) 2-3 Serie A games Randal Kolo Muani scored in last season

Frank also lauded Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall, stressing that he will do everything to help the Swede reach his high ceiling.

The Tottenham boss believes the onus is on himself and the coaching staff to make sure that Bergvall develops well.

“Hopefully as high as possible”, Frank said when asked what Bergvall’s ceiling is.

“My finest job, together with the coaches, is to maximise potential in every player, maximise potential in the team – that’s my most important task.

“Lucas is a fantastic, prime example of that, how can we maximise his potential?”

The Tottenham manager recently hailed Bergvall for his tireless stamina, stating that he sometimes need to instruct him to stop running.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur out-on-loan star Damola Ajayi has struggled to find words to describe his emotions regarding playing against Spurs for Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup.

The 19-year-old winger is a product of Spurs’ academy system and joined League One outfit Doncaster Rovers on loan this summer.

Doncaster boss Grant McCann previously admitted that Ajayi has started to get the grasp of the requirements of playing at senior level.

On Wednesday, the League One outfit came face to face with Ajayi’s parent club Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he featured for 61 minutes but failed to help his team avoid a 3-0 defeat.

Ajayi revealed that he is at a loss for words to explain the feeling he went through returning to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and admitted that he pondered before the game, thinking about how his homecoming would go.

The Spurs loanee also pointed out that during the game he received support from the Tottenham and Doncaster fans as both sets of supporters wanted him to do well.

When asked about his feelings regarding his return to London to face his parent club, Ajayi told Doncaster Rovers’ in-house media (1:40): “I just did not know what to expect tonight [Wednesday].

“Obviously, yes, there were a lot of familiar faces I have not seen [in a while] and at that moment you cannot explain it.

“I was thinking about cool, how is this going to go? How is this going to play out? But when I actually got in the moment, it was good to see that obviously I had the backing of both fans, like both want to see you do well.

“So it is like they both want to see you play; it was good and I enjoyed it.”

Ajayi has so far made eleven appearances for the Yorkshire outfit and scored a goal against Championship outfit Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup.

The 19-year-old, although he started all three games for Doncaster in the EFL Cup, has yet to start in the league for them.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann is pleased to see Tottenham Hotspur loan star Damola Ajayi growing regularly with men’s football, following his loan switch to Donny.

The London-born wide-attacker came through Bromley’s youth set-up, and three years ago, Spurs picked him up when he was 16.

He has featured heavily for Spurs’ youth sides, and last season, he even made a senior appearance for the club in the Europa League.

In a Europa League league phase game against Elfsborg last year, Ajayi came on and scored for Tottenham in a 3-0 victory for the north Londoners.

Spurs loaned him out to League One side Doncaster Rovers in the summer window and so far, he has made eleven appearances for Donny, including in Wednesday night’s 3-0 EFL Cup defeat against Tottenham.

Ajayi clocked just over an hour at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before he was replaced.

McCann stressed that Under-21s football is good until a certain level and he is seeing the 19-year-old starting to see and develop according to the difference between youth football and men’s football.

Scorer Goal time Palhinha 14th minute McGrath (own goal) 17th minute Johnson 94th minute Tottenham Hotspur’s goalscorers against Doncaster Rovers

“I am pleased for Damola”, the Donny boss told Doncaster’s media (6:17) when he was asked about the Spurs talent.

“We can see it every single day now that Damola is starting to understand the level.

“Under-21s football is good, but it is only good to a certain point, and when you go above that, you need men’s football.

“Damola has started developing all the time; it is really nice to see him developing and improving.”

Ajayi is not yet a starter at Doncaster, as he has come off the bench in seven League One games, but McCann started him in three cup competitions.

The teenager will look to establish himself as a starter for Doncaster before returning to his parent club next summer.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Fixture: Tottenham Hotspur vs Doncaster Rovers

Competition: EFL Cup

Kick-off: 19:45 UK time

Thomas Frank has picked his Tottenham Hotspur team to face Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup third round tonight.

Frank will be keen to see Spurs make progress in the competition as it represents a realistic route to silverware in his first season in charge.

The Danish boss will also not want to see an embarrassing exit at the hands of League One outfit Doncaster.

Doncaster, who are relishing the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, have little to lose in north London and all to gain.

The two clubs last came face to face in an EFL Cup tie in 2009, that time with Spurs the away side, and the north London club claimed a comfortable 5-1 win.

Tottenham come into this evening’s clash on the back of a 2-2 draw away at Brighton in the Premier League.

Between the sticks for Spurs tonight is Antonin Kinsky, while ahead of him are Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Archie Gray and Djed Spence.

In the centre of the park, Frank goes with Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, while Xavi Simons, Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert carry the attacking threat.

Frank has a number of options off the bench if he needs to try to influence the game through his changes and they include Lucas Bergvall and Richarlison.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Doncaster Rovers

Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Gray, Spence, Bentancur, Palhinha, Simons, Johnson, Tel, Odobert

Substitutes: Austin, Richarlison, Udogie, Bergvall, Van de Ven, Scarlett, T Thompson, Byfield, Williams-Barnett

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Doncaster Rovers captain Owen Bailey has admitted that he is excited to play at Tottenham Hotspur’s home ground tonight, dubbing Spurs’ home as one of, if not the best, stadiums in England.

The north London club start their EFL Cup journey from today, as they are set to take on League One side Doncaster Rovers.

A Grant McCann-managed Donny won automatic promotion to League One on the back of an impressive League Two campaign.

Doncaster skipper Bailey has not hidden his excitement about playing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the biggest club side ground in London.

The historic White Hart Lane was demolished a few years back to unveil the 62,850-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the new home of Spurs.

Bailey revealed that he has spoken to his friends, who have been at Spurs’ home ground, and everyone gave him an overwhelmingly positive outlook about the stadium.

He believes that the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the best grounds in the country, saying it is going to be a ‘great experience’ for him and his team-mates.

Club Capacity Tottenham Hotspur 62,850 West Ham United 62,500 Arsenal 60,704 Chelsea 40,044 Fulham 27,782 Crystal Palace 25,194 Brentford 17,250 Premier League London sides capacities

“It has got a special sound to it, hasn’t it?”, Bailey told Doncaster’s media (4:19) when he was asked about the Spurs game.

“It is obviously a massive game, a great game for everyone to look forward to.

“Amazing stadium; spoke with a few friends and whatnot, who have played there, being there, and they all said the same thing.

“Obviously, it is one of the best grounds in the country, if not the best ground, obviously, away from Wembley.

“So, it will be a great experience.”

Despite Bailey’s words, one former Leeds United star said after visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that the atmosphere could not touch that at Elland Road.

Ex-Spurs boss Jose Mourinho though said the stadium is the best in the world.

The north Londoners have shown a sense of stability under their new boss, Thomas Frank, who will look to have a comfortable win at their home ground.

Doncaster, though, will look to cause an upset at Spurs’ home to snatch a surprise victory tonight.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Nottingham Forest talent Donnell McNeily, on loan at Wycombe Wanderers, has namechecked Tottenham Hotspur loan star George Abbott for his quality and stressed that he wants to face Manchester City or Liverpool in the next round of the EFL Cup.

Wycombe beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 on Tuesday night in the EFL Cup, where Nottingham Forest loan star McNeily got his first goal of his senior career.

In the summer window, he joined Forest’s academy from Chelsea and was loaned out to League One side Wycombe to further his development.

The 19-year-old forward scored against Wigan, which was assisted by Spurs loan star Abbott and McNeilly stressed that he knew that Abbott was going to find him with his pass.

The 20-year-old Tottenham talent scored at the weekend for Wycombe in a League One match, and the Forest loan star hailed him, saying Abbott has a lot of quality.

“Just stay ready because you never know when the ball is going to come in”, McNeilly told Wanderers TV (0:27) when he was asked about his goal.

“That’s the point of being a striker; you need to be adaptable, like knowing when to make your run.

Player On loan from Sam Bell Bristol City Cauley Woodrow Luton Town Niall Huggins Sunderland Donnell McNeilly Nottingham Forest George Abbott Tottenham Hotspur Wycombe Wanderers’ loan stars

“I was just staying patient, making double movements, and then eventually I knew that George was going to pick me out, he has got a lot of quality.”

The Chairboys have now made it through to the next round of the EFL Cup and the Nottingham Forest teenager is raring to face a big team.

He insisted that he loves the hardest games and dreams of facing Manchester City or Liverpool in the next round of the competition.

“I would take anyone, anyone.

“To be fair, I like the hardest games, so it would be a dream to draw the likes of Man City or Liverpool, or someone like that”, he added.

Whether McNeilly will get his wish to face Premier League big boys in the next round of the EFL Cup remains to be seen.

He will though hope to eventually play in the top flight for Nottingham Forest, where he could potentially come up against Abbott, if he can climb the ladder at Tottenham.

Richard Martin-Roberts/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur out-on-loan talent Alfie Devine has claimed that he was fully aware of the challenges he would face with Preston North End before signing for the club and thinks that everything is working for him at the moment.

The 21-year-old Tottenham attacking midfielder spent last season on loan with Belgian outfit Westerlo, where he made regular appearances and turned some heads with his performances.

Devine, who came through Spurs’ academy system, joined Preston in the summer to ply his trade under new boss Paul Heckingbottom, who is an admirer of his talents.

His career at Deepdale has taken a flying start as he has registered two goals in his first five games and on Saturday it was the Spurs loanee’s goal that sealed a 1-0 victory for Preston against Derby County.

Devine claimed that he perfectly knew what he was getting into when he decided to join Preston and stressed that so far the move is working well for him.

The Spurs talent stated that every game in the Championship brings different challenges and thinks that the most important thing for him now is to clock as much game time as possible for Preston.

When asked about whether everything he was told before the move by Deepdale is coming to fruition, Devine told Preston’s in-house media (1:30): “I think so.

Game Competition Bristol City (H) Championship Hull City (A) Championship Charlton Athletic (H) Championship Preston’s next three games

“Obviously in Championship football each game they come fast and every game is different, but I think, for myself personally, it is just about now, just getting the games in and stuff like that.

“Like I said before, in the first half [against Derby] we showed what we were about, limiting them to pretty much nothing and then we showed what we can do on and off the ball.

“I thought the defenders were superb.

“For the first half they didn’t have a sniff and even when you were under pressure like that in the end, it was resilience and as a group to do it [defending], so yes, I knew what I was coming into and so far it is working.”

It is not the first time Devine is playing in the Championship, as during the 2023/24 season he joined Plymouth Argyle on loan in the second part of the campaign and played a crucial role in fighting off the relegation threat for the Pilgrims.

Devine is highly rated at Spurs and he will be keen on having an impressive season with Heckingbottom’s side to get into Tottenham’s first-team plans.