Overview
After a season near relegation to the Premier League, Tottenham entered the 2026-2027 campaign with a new look under Roberto De Zerbi. However, the opening match against Brentford quickly exposed old problems when Spurs lost 0-3 away from home.
Despite owning many new players, Tottenham still lacks cohesion. De Zerbi admitted that the team has not operated as a complete team and the players have not shown enough fighting spirit against Brentford.
Tottenham spent more than 350 million pounds in the summer, especially with the recruitment of Savinho and preparing to welcome Omar Marmoush. However, the defense still gives De Zerbi a headache. Spurs have only kept a clean sheet in 2 of their last 18 official matches and conceded 4 goals in 7 pre-season friendly matches.
Before returning to the Premier League to meet Newcastle, Tottenham will host Charlton in the Carabao Cup. This is an opportunity for Spurs to regain confidence at home. Tottenham also has a superior head-to-head record when winning all 5 recent matches against Charlton, scoring 16 goals and conceding only 4 goals.
However, the Carabao Cup is not a playground that brings much joy to Tottenham in recent years.
Meanwhile, Charlton finished last season in 19th place in the Championship. However, Nathan Jones' team is having a good start when winning all 2 first rounds of the season, respectively against Derby County and West Ham.
The most notable was the 2-1 victory at West Ham last weekend. Against more than 59,000 spectators at London Stadium, Charlton surprised with goals from captain Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell.
Charlton will have to move to Tottenham before returning to Championship against Preston North End just 3 days later. This is also a difficult away trip as they have never beaten Tottenham since November 2004, when Alan Curbishley was still leading the team.
At the Carabao Cup, Charlton defeated Cheltenham Town 3-1 in the first round. However, they have only passed the second round once in the past 10 years, which was the journey to the quarter-finals of the 2022-2023 season. Last season, Charlton was eliminated by Cambridge United in the second round after a 1-3 defeat away from home.
Personnel situation
Tottenham will not have the services of Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert, who are all having knee problems. Mohammed Kudus is also absent due to a thigh injury. James Maddison may have to rest for about two weeks after breaking his shoulder in the loss to Brentford.
Pape Sarr still leaves open the possibility of playing due to a thigh injury. Meanwhile, De Zerbi confirmed that Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will return from the bench after not playing in the match against Brentford.
On Charlton's side, Matt Godden and Will Mannion are recovering, along with Kayne Ramsay. Charlie Kelman and Josh Edwards have returned to training and will be tested before the match.
Newcomer Timothy Ouma may not have reached the necessary fitness for this match. The Kenyan midfielder is currently training with the U21 team after joining Charlton on loan from Slavia Prague.
Expected lineup:
Tottenham: Dubravka, Gray, Van Hecke, Danso, Udogie, Fernandes, Bentancur, Bergvall, Moore, Solanke, Tel.
Charlton Athletic: Kaminski, Rankin-Costello, Jones, Burke, Bell, Chalobah, Coventry, Campbell, Carey, Grant, Leaburn.
The match between Tottenham and Charlton Athletic takes place at 1:45 a.m. on August 27 (Vietnam time).
