Overview
Tottenham enters the 2026-2027 season with the goal of avoiding repeating two consecutive seasons finishing in 17th place in the Premier League. To improve their performance, Spurs have taken strong action in the transfer market, breaking the transfer record twice in a few days with Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, with a total value of up to 185 million pounds.
Coach Roberto De Zerbi still wants to continue to strengthen the attack when targeting Savinho and Omar Marmoush of Manchester City. However, Tottenham had a positive pre-season period when they were unbeaten in all 7 matches, including 4 wins and 3 draws. Among them, noteworthy are the 2-1 victory over Chelsea at the Sydney Super Cup and the 3-0 victory over Hoffenheim.
Spurs also have a good record in Premier League opening matches when they have only lost 1 in the last 10 matches. They are particularly lucky when playing away at Brentford, where Tottenham has never lost since their city rival returned to the Premier League in 2021.
Brentford has gone through an equally impressive pre-season period. After a 0-1 defeat to Watford, coach Keith Andrews' team won all 4 subsequent friendly matches and scored 17 goals, including a 7-0 destruction of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Last season, Brentford only won 1 of the last 10 Premier League matches, thereby missing the opportunity to qualify for the Conference League. However, they still maintain good results in the London derbies at home and are unbeaten against city rivals here last season.
The 0-0 draw in the most recent meeting helped Brentford end a 4-game losing streak against Tottenham. However, the "Bees" have not won against Spurs at home since returning to the Premier League, making this confrontation a challenging challenge for both teams.
Personnel situation
Tottenham not only has problems in attack but also a new worry in defense before the opening match. At a recent press conference, Roberto De Zerbi confirmed that Micky van de Ven will not be present.
Van de Ven's absence opens up opportunities for two new signings Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke to make official debuts for Tottenham. In addition, Andrew Robertson is also expected to start as a left-back in the context that Destiny Udogie is still in the process of recovering physically.
Tottenham also does not have the service of Xavi Simons, who is being treated for a anterior cruciate ligament injury. Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski also have knee problems. Pape Sarr suffered a groin injury, Mohammed Kudus suffered a thigh muscle injury, while Pedro Porro was given rest.
Brentford also did not enter the season with a completely healthy squad. Sepp van den Berg suffered a groin injury, and Antoni Milambo is being treated for a knee problem. Neither of them has a specific time to return to play.
However, most of Brentford's squad is in good shape, especially the attack. Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade both scored twice in a 7-0 victory over Frankfurt.
Expected lineup:
Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Sangare, Janelt, Ouattara, Jensen, Schade, Thiago.
Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray, Senesi, Van Hecke, Robertson, Tonali, Fernandes, Moore, Gallagher, Tel, Richarlison.
The match between Brentford and Tottenham takes place at 11:30 p.m. on August 22 (Vietnam time).
