Tottenham predicted XI vs Getafe: Richarlison starts, but Sandro Tonali doesn't
Tottenham Hotspur are back on home soil to take on Spanish side Getafe this Saturday.
Roberto De Zerbi's side ran out 2-1 winners against Chelsea in Sydney last Saturday, maintaining Tottenham's unbeaten run in pre-season so far.
Spurs have now beaten MK Dons, Auckland FC, Sydney FC on penalties and Chelsea this summer, in what has been an impressive campaign.
La Liga opposition are next on the agenda for Tottenham, with Jose Bordalas' Getafe coming to Hotspur Way this weekend.
The Madrid-based outfit finished seventh in La Liga last season, and will provide another stern test for the Lilywhites as the new term draws ever closer.
Ahead of Saturday's 3pm kick-off, Tottenham News attempts to go inside De Zerbi's mind and predict how he'll line his starting XI up for this one.
Roberto De Zerbi resists major changes in defence vs Getafe
Tottenham lined up in a 4-3-3 formation against Chelsea, but we expect Spurs to start with a 4-2-3-1 against Getafe to counter their typical 5-4-1 system.
In goal, De Zerbi has been doing a one-on, one-off rotation with Antonin Kinsky and Martin Dubravka, with the latter starting against Chelsea.
As such, we're expecting Dubravka to get the nod against Getafe, as he continues to shore up his role as Kinsky's number two ahead of the new season.
Across the back four, we're backing De Zerbi to name an unchanged backline from the one that started against Chelsea.
Right-back should be Archie Gray, with his 0.06 times dribbled past per game in the Premier League last season (per FotMob) proving his ability to defend in one-on-one situations.
Over on the left, Andy Robertson is coming off an 11-start campaign with Liverpool, but the 32-year-old looks set to open the 2026-27 season as Tottenham's starting left-back, and should keep his place this weekend.
Meanwhile, the centre-back pairing can once again be Ben Davies and Jan Paul van Hecke, with Marcos Senesi still to return from his extended World Cup break.
So, whilst there may not be too many changes in defence, we are expecting De Zerbi to make some alterations to his midfield.
Tottenham teenager makes starting XI return
Instead of a flat midfield three against Chelsea, we're tipping De Zerbi to start with a two behind a number 10.
For the two in the engine room, we're backing Lucas Bergvall to start on the right side of central midfield.
The Swede made four appearances and one start at this summer's World Cup, culminating in 178 minutes of tournament action and still needs to nail down an important role under De Zerbi.
Next to him, Conor Gallagher should retain his place in the starting XI, with the 27-year-old having started the last two against Sydney and Auckland respectively.
In the number 10, and replacing Sandro Tonali in the team after his 81 minutes against Chelsea, we're backing 17-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett to make his return to the starting XI, having last done so against Auckland.
Williams-Barnett scored six goals and provided five assists in 10 Premier League 2 games last term, averaging 0.68 goals per 90 as well as taking 3.62 shots and creating 2.72 chances per game.
He could already be set for a first-team breakthrough in 2026-27 despite his young age, and his considerable involvement in pre-season suggests De Zerbi already has a lot of belief in him.
That just leaves the two wingers and the centre-forward to select, and we think De Zerbi will also make some changes here.
De Zerbi safeguards transfer exit with Getafe withdrawal
Manor Solomon started the previous game against Chelsea, but the Israeli international is being strongly linked with a move away from Tottenham this summer.
Because of that, we think De Zerbi will drop the 27-year-old against Getafe and bring in Yang Min-hyeok to start on the right.
The 20-year-old played 45 minutes against MK Dons, 27 against Auckland and 25 against Sydney respectively, and De Zerbi may wish to see more of him before making a potential transfer call on the two-cap South Korean international this summer.
Over on the left, Mathys Tel is likely to keep his place in the team, with his goal against Sydney and his assist against Auckland ensuring the five-goal winger from last season is having a strong pre-season campaign.
And leading the line, Dominic Solanke's summer struggles went on in front of goal against Chelsea, and it took substitute Richarlison to come and and score the stoppage time winner.
Spurs do look set to sell Richarlison this summer, but with nothing yet agreed, continuing to put him in the shop window and potentially inflating his transfer value slightly wouldn't harm anyone.
De Zerbi may yet decide to keep the Brazilian if Solanke's form doesn't improve, as he did average 0.51 goals in the Premier League last term and could stand to be a big beneficiary of the Italian's coaching.