Tottenham will be hoping to secure all three points on opening day of the new Premier League season.
The new Premier League season kicks off this weekend, with Tottenham facing Brentford away from home on Saturday. It promises to be an exciting game for the neutrals as both teams look to start the new campaign on a positive note. The Lilywhites have plenty to be excited about, with Roberto de Zerbi taking charge of the team for his first full season at the club after joining midway through the previous campaign.
The North Londoners have spent heavily on new signings this summer after finishing just one place above the relegation zone last season. They have brought in six new players, spending more than £230m on incomings. Spurs have signed the likes of Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Andy Robertson to fix a leaky defence and replace both Cristian Romero and Djed Spence. On the other hand, they have also broken the club’s transfer record twice, first by bringing in Mateus Fernandes and then by landing Sandro Tonali.
Spending £235m this summer has not stopped the Lilywhites from splashing the cash on attacking reinforcements during the business end of the window. According to recent reports, Spurs are now on the verge of completing a double deal for Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Savinho. Signing both players would cost the North Londoners approximately £150m, taking their transfer spend to almost £385m this window.
Tottenham face a tough test against Brentford
Tottenham are hoping to kickstart a new era at N17 with a flying start under Roberto de Zerbi this season. The Lilywhites travel to the Gtech Stadium to take on Brentford in their opening game. It is important to note that the North Londoners are slight favourites in this enticing fixture, considering that they have never lost an away game against the Bees since Keith Andrews’ side got promoted in 2021. So, the onus now falls on De Zerbi to bring the best out of his players on Saturday.
Chris Sutton has now revealed his predictions for the highly-anticipated clash between the Lilywhites and Brentford. Speaking on the BBC, Sutton said,
“There is a lot of excitement surrounding Spurs and I understand why. I am really looking forward to seeing Spurs under Roberto de Zerbi and the expectation will be that they do well. Without European football, they must be thinking about the top six. Keith Andrews had a sensational first season as Brentford manager and it will be interesting to see how they set up – will it be a case of ‘counter-attack Keith’ again?”
The pundit adds,
“The way I see this game going, Spurs will have most of the ball but Brentford are well organised and very dangerous on the break. Igor Thiago had an incredible campaign for the Bees last time and they have got Kevin Schade too, so I don’t see them struggling for goals. 1-1.”
Which way could it go?
As Sutton rightly points out, Spurs have done well to back Roberto de Zerbi in the market and there is a sense of optimism in and around N17. The same goes for Keith Andrews at Brentford as he gets all set to take charge of the Bees for a second season running. The Englishman rose above expectations to lead Brentford to a top-half finish last season. So, it goes without saying that the Lilywhites might be in for a tricky contest at the Gtech Stadium.
Last season’s clash between both sides ended in a stalemate, with neither team being able to break the deadlock. But if we take the bigger picture into context, Spurs have held the upper hand against Brentford for the last few years. The Lilywhites are unbeaten in the last six meet-ups, winning four matches and drawing the other two. Not only that, but the North Londoners also boast a strong opening day record in the Premier League, losing just one of their last 10 opening day matches.
