Brentford Open Season Against Tottenham: The Predicted XI

The long awaited return of Brentford to competitive football will be upon us, as they host Spurs in the 17:30 kick off live on Sky Sports for their first game of the season. 

After an exciting pre-season, and a number of eye catching signings made this summer, there is a lot of anticipation within the fanbase over the new season. With just one game a week - unlike most of the teams around them in the table - there is a hope that the next step to secure European football for the very first time will be made. 

There is no doubt that Spurs will be a completely different proposition to last season (where Brentford still only managed one point from two games), with a new manager and quite a new squad. It will certainly be a tough game, and the Bees will need to be at their best. 

So, how does Keith Andrews go about picking the best team to try and make sure that happens? Let's have a look. 

Truth be told, there may not be a huge amount to overthink with this one, as boring as it may sound. In general, managers like to play their best XI, or at least close to it, in the final pre-season game, the Bees finishing with an emphatic 7-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. 

Although competitive games are a completely different kettle of fish, it would feel harsh to make too many changes from such an impressive win.

The signing of Jaidon Anthony from Burnley was well received by the fans, and considering how much of a divisive player Kevin Schade, you could have seen a world where the new man started against Spurs. 

However, after Schade scored twice and registered two assists against Frankfurt, is it possible to drop him for this one? He was taken off after 71 minutes too, perhaps to keep him fresh and ready for this game. 

As we discussed at the time, there was a lot of quality coming off the bench last week. Some serious depth. It does not feel far fetched for someone like Yehor Yarmoliuk or Mikkel Damsgaard to start this game. It's certainly not impossible, and every game provides a different type of challenge, particularly when it is competitive and not a friendly. 

But, overall, it feels like Andrews will stick with the tried and tested side. So an unchanged side feels likely.

Predicted XI: Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Sangare, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade.