The Ange Postecoglou era begins on Tuesday for Tottenham Hotspur, who commence their pre-season preparations with a friendly London derby against West Ham United in Perth.
The Lilywhites will also meet Leicester City and Lion City Sailors as part of their Asia-Pacific Tour, while David Moyes's side have already clinched two wins in exhibition matches so far this summer.
Match preview
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Chaotic would probably be the most appropriate way to describe Tottenham's 2022-23 season, which saw Antonio Conte launch a brutal verbal assault on his players, Newcastle United hit the Lilywhites for six and the North London club's failure to qualify for continental competition.
For the first time in 14 seasons, there will be no European football on offer for the North London giants next year, as Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason joined forces to guide Tottenham to an underwhelming eighth-placed finish, with 63 goals conceded in tow.
It was only fitting for Tottenham's managerial search to typify their on-field fortunes in 2022-23, as the likes of Arne Slot, Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and ex-head coach Mauricio Pochettino all decided that the job was not for them, forcing chairman Daniel Levy to look further down his list of candidates.
In a bid to end his side's 15-year trophy drought, Levy has taken a punt on a man who won three in one season with Celtic last term, awarding Australian trailblazer Postecoglou a four-year contract as the Athens-born coach seeks to bring attacking football back to the white half of North London.
Following their brief stopover in the South Pacific, Tottenham host Shakhtar Donetsk in a charity friendly - perhaps also aiming to rebuild any burned bridges over the Manor Solomon transfer - before a showdown with Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy precedes their Premier League opener away to London rivals Brentford.
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Warming up for that capital clash against one of their fellow London counterparts Down Under, Tottenham pit their wits against a West Ham side who are further along in their pre-season preparations, having already seen off Boreham Wood and Perth Glory in emphatic fashion.
After easing to a 4-1 success over the former team, the Irons boarded their flight to Australia and flaunted their attacking firepower in a 6-2 victory over Perth Glory on Saturday, with Jarrod Bowen scoring twice alongside efforts from Gianluca Scamacca, Emerson Palmieri, Danny Ings and Divin Mubama.
There may have been six places and 20 points between Spurs and West Ham in the Premier League table at the climax of the 2022-23 season, as Moyes's side flirted with the possibility of relegation for several months, but what they lacked domestically, the Hammers more than made up for continentally.
Entering the 2023-24 campaign with a Europa Conference League crown to defend, West Ham are also £105m richer following the eventual sale of captain Declan Rice to Arsenal, and Tuesday's game will mark their final Pacific contest before European ventures await.
Indeed, Moyes's side will also face off against Dagenham & Redbridge, Rennes and Bayer Leverkusen in exhibition games this summer, but they have gone winless in their last four Premier League contests versus Tottenham, who may still accept a few pointers from their London rivals when it comes to adding to their silverware cabinet.
Team News
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Aside from the injured quintet of Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Fraser Forster (back), Bryan Gil (back), Troy Parrott (groin) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Tottenham have also travelled to Perth without club captain Hugo Lloris as the goalkeeper explores prospective transfer opportunities.
New arrival Guglielmo Vicario should therefore be considered for his non-competitive debut alongside Destiny Udogie, James Maddison and Solomon, and while Lloris has been given permission to stay at home, in-demand striker Harry Kane has made the trip.
Bayern Munich are known to be pursuing the England captain, whose contract now has under 12 months left to run, but he is said to have been left impressed by Postecoglou's early impact and could spearhead the Australian's new-look 4-3-3.
In contrast, West Ham have been relatively quiet on the transfer front so far - only acquiring the services of Irish attacker Sean Moore from Cliftonville - but business should accelerate now that Rice's departure has been confirmed.
The former Hammers captain was unsurprisingly among West Ham's tour absentees anyway, while fellow internationals Said Benrahma, Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer have only just returned to Rush Green.
Under-21s centre-back Luizao scored an own goal during the 6-2 thrashing of Perth - not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things - and he could be given the nod to line up alongside Kurt Zouma at the back once again.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dier, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Laing, Zouma, Luizao, Cresswell; Bowen, Downes, Potts, Fornals; Ings, Scamacca
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 West Ham United
Postecoglou will not be able to work his attacking magic with Tottenham overnight, but an entertaining contest should still be on the agenda in Perth, especially with the Lilywhites practically at full strength and several of West Ham's international stars only just returning to match fitness.
There will be no quick fix to Spurs' defensive deficiencies either, but the Postecoglou reign should get off to an ideal start with a narrow win Down Under.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
