Tottenham Faces Hoffenheim with Key Players Returning
Tottenham’s final pre-season run-out of the summer comes with a heavy dose of intrigue and a fair bit of worry.
Barely 24 hours after a comfortable 3-0 win over Hoffenheim at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs are facing the Bundesliga side again on Sunday, this time behind closed doors at Hotspur Way. The scoreline on Saturday belonged to the kids, with Mikey Moore lighting up north London. The rematch belongs to the returnees.
Maddison back at last
James Maddison starts and finally gets his first minutes of pre-season. It has been a long, stuttering road back for the playmaker after the anterior cruciate ligament injury that wiped out most of his last campaign, followed by an unspecified setback that delayed his summer involvement.
Now he is in from the off for Roberto De Zerbi, who has shuffled his pack for this second Hoffenheim clash, drafting in several players who did not feature on Saturday. For Spurs, the sight of Maddison dictating play again is as important as any result in August.
Big-money Fernandes steps in
Alongside him, Mateus Fernandes also returns. The £85million signing from West Ham has barely been seen since a minor calf issue cut short his role on the club’s tour of New Zealand and Australia. This is his chance to finally build rhythm in a Spurs shirt before the real stuff starts.
Midfield looks far more recognisable. Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr are both back in from the start against Hoffenheim in Enfield, bolstering a spine that has looked thin at times this summer.
On the left, Brazilian full-back Souza also starts. Signed in January and already the subject of speculation about a move away, he gets another opportunity to convince De Zerbi he should be part of the long-term picture.
Youth and a few reminders at the back
Kevin Danso lines up in defence after his chaotic cameo in Sydney, where he was sent off shortly after coming on in the dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea earlier this month. Veteran Ben Davies adds experience alongside him.
Brandon Austin gets the nod in goal, with De Zerbi again leaning into the club’s academy depth. Luca Williams-Barnett, Tye Hall and Damola Ajayi all start, while the bench underlines the scale of the youth movement: highly rated 15-year-old goalkeeper Mikel Jack is among the substitutes.
This is a mixed XI – part rehabilitation exercise, part audition, part necessity.
Big absences before Brentford
The concern sits elsewhere. Tottenham open their Premier League campaign away at Brentford next weekend, and two key defenders remain nowhere to be seen.
Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie have not played a single minute of pre-season. Not one. Both are again missing here, a glaring issue for a side trying to build solidity under a new head coach.
Up front, Dominic Solanke is also absent once more. He has not featured since playing 45 minutes against Chelsea on August 1 in his second outing of the summer. Any hope of him hitting the ground running is fading with every missed game.
Mohammed Kudus is still not ready for action either. He has only just re-joined training after recovering from a serious quad injury and sits this one out as his workload is managed carefully.
Dejan Kulusevski is back on the grass after the knee injury that has kept him out since May 2025, but his return to competitive action is not imminent. Spurs will have to be patient there.
Pedro Porro has not played at all in pre-season, his absence explained by an extended break following Spain’s World Cup triumph. He only reported back earlier this week, leaving De Zerbi short of time to integrate his first-choice right-back before the league kicks off.
So Tottenham head into their final friendly with star quality returning, kids stepping up, and a defence still held together by hope and tape. With Brentford looming, how long can they afford to live this close to the edge?
