Tottenham predicted line-up vs Sydney FC as Tonali and Gray start in strong De Zerbi XI

Here is the Tottenham Hotspur team that we reckon Roberto De Zerbi will select to take on Sydney FC on the club's pre-season tour

Roberto De Zerbi is likely to bring some of his senior stars back into his Tottenham team to face Sydney FC in Australia on Wednesday.

The Italian selected a young starting XI for Sunday's 2-0 win against Auckland FC in New Zealand, opting to rest all of his first team players aside from Archie Gray. The Spurs boss cited the club's 30-hour flight from the other side of the globe and the increased risk of injuries to his tired stars.

However, with the players now better acclimatised five days into their summer tour and with numerous training sessions under their belt, De Zerbi could start at least those senior stars who came off the bench on Sunday. That could mean any of Richarlison, Mathys Tel, Conor Gallagher and Ben Davies coming into the side at the Allianz Stadium.

Mateus Fernandes is not expected to start the game in Sydney as De Zerbi continues to monitor the fatigue of his players after tough pre-season training sessions, with football.london reporting that the Portuguese does not have an injury despite social media fears.

Sandro Tonali missed out on the game in Auckland with a small issue and De Zerbi said the £100million signing should be back in action against Sydney. Tonali had played 45 minutes in the game against MK Dons last Wednesday but James Maddison and Destiny Udogie have missed out on both fixtures so far with minor problems according to the Tottenham head coach.

Dominic Solanke, Antonin Kinsky and Martin Dubravka also played against MK Dons but did not feature against Auckland so may come back into contention either from the start or in the second half.

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De Zerbi will have to decide when is the right time to introduce the returning World Cup players - Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson Kevin Danso and Lucas Bergvall - and it could be that they get minutes from the bench.

With Pedro Porro and Djed Spence now resting after their World Cup exploits, Gray could be used as a right-back for this midweek encounter.

Spurs face Premier League rivals Chelsea on Saturday at the Accor Stadium and with just two recovery days between the matches, De Zerbi will have to manage minutes carefully and blend in plenty of his young players. It could be that some of his senior stars, if not all of them, play a half in each.

Here's the Tottenham team we reckon De Zerbi might select to face Sydney:

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