Spurs tonight complete their preparations for the second half of the season as they welcome Nice to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their final friendly. Spurs have already beaten Motherwell 4-0, while Nice were brushed aside 3-0 by Atalanta last week.
Antonio Conte had hoped to field the likes of Heung-min Son and Oliver Skipp and Djed Spence, with Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and others still on leave after the World Cup, but a stomach bug has affected some of the players, so tonight’s team is likely to be more youthful than first expected.
Matt Doherty scored twice from left wing-back against the Scottish side, and could line up there again if Ryan Sessegnon is not fit, while Dejan Kulusevski and Bryan Gil should make up a front three with Lucas Moura. Kick-off is at 7pm GMT, you can follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog.
Live updates
Nice XI
A few familiar faces in the Nice line-up, including Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe, former Chelsea man Ross Barkley and ex-Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Tottenham XI
Here’s how the hosts look.
More team news from Antonio Conte ahead of the confirmed lineups being annoyed.
“Ben Davies is okay and started to work with us last week. He has recovered,” the Italian told SPURSPLAY. “Rodrigo [Bentancur] has started to work. I think that he’s going to be good for the game against Aston Villa.
“For Richy [Richarlison], tomorrow he’s going to have an MRI (scan) to know very well the importance of the injury. After tomorrow we will see very well the time he needs to recover.”
Players and fans have started to arrive.
Three players who certainly won’t be on show tonight are Cristian Romero, Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane.
Kane is eyeing a quick-fire return to club duty and is in line to feature against London rivals Brentford at Boxing Day as the Spurs star looks to lead their Champions League push in the second half of the season.
“Hugo lost the final and, instead, Cuti [Romero] won the final,” said Spurs boss Antonio Conte earlier.
“For Harry, he missed a penalty, but I think he played a really good World Cup. For sure, they have to try and put to one side this experience.”
Prediction
Spurs should complete their mid-season break with a win in front of their own fans, even without their more established players.
A 2-0 win to Tottenham.
Stomach bug hits Spurs squad
Ben Davies could be fit having overcome a stomach muscle issue while Rodrigo Bentancur (thigh) and Richarlison (hamstring) will both miss out.
However, a stomach bug outbreak has hit several members of the squad with Oliver Skipp, Heung-min Son and Djed Spence set to miss out.
Hugo Lloris, Ivan Perisic and Cristian Romero will also miss out while finishing off their participation at the World Cup.
Harry Kane and the rest of Spurs’ World Cup stars are not expected to be available for many minutes, if any.
Where to watch
TV channel: The match will be broadcast live via SpursPlay.
Live stream: SpursPlay subscribers can tune in via the Tottenham club website or app.
Welcome
Good afternoon and welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the mid-season friendly between Tottenham and Nice.
It is the Spurs’ squad’s final run out before facing Brentford on Boxing Day. Kick-off is at 7pm GMT.
Stick with us.
