Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Alasdair Gold & Rob Guest & Emma de Duve

Parrott steps up, Kane left out - Tottenham lineups Antonio Conte should pick vs Team K League

Tottenham's pre-season tour of South Korea is brought to you in association with Nord VPN, sponsors of football.london's coverage.

Almost two months after Tottenham finished the 2021/22 season in fourth place with a 5-0 win against Norwich, Antonio Conte's side are back in action. Since then, the players have had some time off and are now in South Korea for the start of their pre-season friendlies.

Conte and his squad have been in the country for a few days now, undergoing gruelling training sessions to prepare for the first fixture, against Team K League. The 52-year-old already gave an indication of his plan for the match on Wednesday.

"Tomorrow in the game, my target is to give all the players at least 45 minutes because we are working very well and I think all the players deserve to play at least one half," he said in his pre match press conference. Ivan Perisic won't be available for selection, as he is still working his way back to fitness from his calf injury.

READ MORE: Every word Antonio Conte said on more Tottenham transfers, why he stayed at the club and Son

Dejan Kulusevski is also a doubt after he left Monday's training session early. It looked precautionary, but the small calf problem may not be risked in the first match.

With those who are available, have a look at who our Tottenham Hotspur reporters would pick in their starting XI.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

The potential absence of Kulusevski means we might see the first use of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and new signing Richarlison together.

Although Antonio Conte has said he wants to give everyone 45 minutes each, so whether he wants to mix and match with Lucas Moura, Troy Parrott and Bryan Gil is another thing.

In midfield he has options galore as he also does at centre-back and pretty much throughout the team now apart from Ivan Perisic not being ready to play yet and Clement Lenglet and Joe Rodon back at Hotspur Way, along with Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon.

He's going to mix up the teams a lot so my first half starting XI is a blend to reflect that.

Gold's team: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Tanganga; Emerson, Skipp, Bissouma, Sessegnon; Lucas, Parrott, Son.

Rob Guest - Tottenham Hotspur reporter

Conte has the perfect chance to assess his Tottenham team on Wednesday in their first summer friendly against Team K League. As is always the case in pre-season, the boss won't go with his strongest XI and it will be more mix and match.

With the Tottenham squad returning to pre-season training at different stages, it would probably be better to start a number of those who were back at Hotspur Way at the beginning of last week. The opportunity will also be there to start Japhet Tanganga, Matt Doherty and Oliver Skipp after the trio missed football in the second part of last campaign through injury.

Conte has already admitted that he will look to give all of his players at least 45 minutes, thus allowing him to bring on his international players who were the last to return to training after their summer break.

Guest's team: Forster; Tanganga, Dier, Fagan-Walcott; Doherty, Skipp, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Lucas, Parrott, Son.

Emma de Duve - Tottenham Hotspur reporter

There are a number of combinations Conte could start with in Tottenham's first pre-season friendly but one thing is for sure, everyone is going to want to impress. It is a good time for the Italian to see if his regular XI from last season are still performing well, but also if the injured and returning players, as well as new arrivals, can step-up.

As the Italian has already said, there will be rotations during the game, so I think we will see a mixed team throughout. I think it is a good chance for Conte to get a balance of what he needs to look out for.

Therefore I imagine there will be some returning players, some who were injured, some new arrivals and some of the regular starting XI from last season, who start the match on Wednesday. Despite the game being played in Son's home country, the Italian could give others a chance to start, before bringing the South Korean on to a big reception.

de Duve's team: Forster; Tanganga, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon; Lucas, Parrott, Gil.

READ NEXT:

What happened when Richarlison met Cristian Romero for the first time as a Tottenham player

Tottenham player injury doubt for first friendly after training absence as one star ruled out

Tottenham news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates and rumours from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Brutal Conte training has Tottenham players on knees but Troy Parrott explains why he didn't

Full Tottenham Premier League fixture list for 2022/23

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.