Big things are expected of Tottenham Hotspurs under head coach Mauricio Pochettino after the team reloaded over the offseason. Remember, this is a team that’s coming off a strong performance as they accumulated 64 points last season en route to a solid fifth-place finish in the EPL table. After getting glimpses of the team’s preparations for the year on social media, fans are ready to finally see the team play in exhibition games.
The preseason slate can only tell us so much but it represents the opportunity to see where this team is at heading in to a new season. Here is a quick breakdown of Tottenham’s preseason friendlies.
July 18th: Peterborough United
Venue: London Road
Spurs kick off the preseason slate against a Peterborough United team that opened its exhibition schedule with a 3-2 win over Dulwich Hamlet as striker Joe Gormley gave fans another glimpse at his potential as a scorer. Gormley scored 40 goals for Cliftonville last season and joins former West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison on this squad. The new blood has provided increased expectations and Peterborough should be in good shape to test Tottenham’s fitness levels in this one.
July 30th: MLS All-Stars
Venue: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Tottenham is the eighth English club to be invited to play against the MLS All-Stars and while Pochettino prefers to keep the team back on the other side of the pond, this was one concession he made to further the team’s brand. This is mostly a commercial exercise but it will also be an opportunity for some of the younger players on the team to showcase their talents for Pochettino.
The MLS has continued to up their quality, so this probably won’t be too a walk in the park. Tottenham should have a good opportunity to work on their offense in this one. They scored 58 goals last season, which was fifth in the EPL, but they’ll need to do a bit better to move up the standings.
August 1st: Stevenage
Venue: Lamex Stadium
Stevenage has been a frequent preseason opponent over the years for Spurs. This will be another excellent opportunity to test the team’s fitness with this opponent making their final preparations for the club season. This will be Stevenage’s final warmup for the actual season, so Tottenham can expect their very best play and a better challenge than they got from them the last time these two sides played an exhibition match.
August 4th: Real Madrid
Venue: Allianz Arena
The preseason schedule really ramps up in early August with the semifinal for the Audi Cup against Real Madrid. The Spanish side fell short of expectations both at home and in Europe last season and with such a high demand placed on the club every single season, there is no doubt about what the tempo of this game will be like. Real Madrid is absolutely loaded, so this will be an excellent chance for Spurs to assess where they stand. Remember, they were so close to earning a Championship League but if they do end up making it this year, they’re going to face teams like this Real Madrid, so this is an important measuring stick.
August 5th: vs AC Milan/Bayern Munich
Venue: Allianz Arena
It doesn’t matter whether Spurs beats Real Madrid or not because they will play either AC Milan or Bayern Munich the following day for either the third place game or the Audi Cup Final. Both teams will represent a tough test for Tottenham and similarly, are teams Tottenham could face in European action when it counts. While they would certainly welcome the challenge of playing for a trophy, a third place game will be important as well as a test of merit before the Premier League season gets underway. The exhibition tour includes the perfect blend of minor tune-ups and decent challenges and it will be very interesting to see how Spurs fare.
