After three months without competitive football, Tottenham Hotspur finally kick off their 2026/27 Premier League campaign with a trip to Brentford.
New season, new beginnings. Tottenham Hotspur are all set to begin their new campaign under Roberto De Zerbi, who takes charge of his first full season at the north London club after helping them massively in their battle to avoid relegation last term.
But lessons have definitely been learnt by the north London club, who have already invested £237m in the squad, with that figure expected to rise further as they look to sign three more attackers in the coming days.
It has been a near-perfect pre-season run as well, with Tottenham unbeaten across all seven of their friendlies, winning five and drawing two.
Brentford, on the other hand, have played only two friendlies this summer, winning both. They first beat Ligue 1 side Rennes 4-2 before embarrassing Eintracht Frankfurt with a 7-0 victory last weekend.
What time does Brentford vs Tottenham kick off?
- Location: London, England
- Stadium: Gtech Community Stadium
- Date: Saturday, 22 August 2026
- Kick-off time: 5:30pm BST
- Referee: Michael Oliver
- VAR: John Brooks
Tottenham team news
Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie were both doubts after failing to feature in any of Tottenham’s pre-season fixtures, with no injury concerns reported around either player and their minutes instead being managed.
Udogie was spotted training for the first time this month in the club’s latest training gallery, although Van de Ven was nowhere to be seen.
Mohammed Kudus has also not featured since early January due to a hamstring injury, but returned to full training earlier this month. The Ghanaian was not risked in any of the friendlies, so he too remains a doubt.
Dominic Solanke was reported to have suffered an ankle injury last week, but was recently pictured training with the squad.
In his press conference, De Zerbi confirmed that Porro and Van de Ven would miss the game, but Maddison, Solanke, and Udogie could make the squad.
The confirmed absentees are Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski, who all remain sidelined.
As for potential new arrivals, Spurs are working on deals for Savinho, Cody Gakpo and Omar Marmoush. However, with the registration deadline for this fixture falling on Friday, it looks highly unlikely that any of them will be registered by then, meaning De Zerbi will have to do with a front three of Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel.
Brentford team news
Keith Andrews has a fully fit squad to choose from apart from Sepp van den Berg, who is currently dealing with a knock and is expected to miss the fixture.
Predicted Tottenham line-up
Tottenham: Kinsky; Gray, Van Hecke, Senesi, Robertson; Tonali, Fernandes, Maddison; Moore, Richarlison, Tel.
Pedro Porro has only recently returned after last featuring in the World Cup final against Argentina and may not be fully match-ready to feature here, given he has not played any part in Tottenham’s pre-season campaign.
If Porro is deemed fit enough to start, Gray could be pushed into midfield in place of James Maddison, who may also not be fully up to speed after playing just 45 minutes in pre-season. That came against Hoffenheim last weekend, where the midfielder looked understandably short of sharpness.
Lucas Bergvall, who faces an uncertain future at Spurs, could also start ahead of Maddison.
As for the front three, De Zerbi has very little room for manoeuvre, given the current lack of attacking options.
Our prediction
The last time these two sides met, Tottenham beat Brentford 2-0 in the first meeting of last season before the reverse fixture ended in a rather forgettable goalless draw.
Looking at the broader picture, Brentford’s last victory over Tottenham came more than three years ago, while they have never beaten Spurs at their current home ground.
And we are backing Tottenham to extend both of those runs.
Keep an eye on the new signings Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Andy Robertson, all of whom are set to make their competitive Tottenham debuts.
Predicted score: Brentford 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur