Richarlison and Udogie wait, Phillips in – Ange Postecoglou’s strongest Tottenham team vs Hearts

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side officially get their 2024 pre-season fixtures underway on Wednesday evening when they travel to Edinburgh to take on Hearts. Back at their Hotspur Way base for just over a week now, Spurs did in fact play a behind-closed-doors friendly against League One side Cambridge United last Saturday.

The Tottenham boss did elect to use a different team in each half, with those playing in the first half running out 5-0 winners and those involved in the second 45 minutes playing out a 2-2 draw. Brennan Johnson hit a hat-trick in the first half as Son Heung-min added a brace, with Spurs youngster Mikey Moore netting after the break when operating on the right-wing.

The behind-closed-doors game at Hotspur Way did give new signings Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall the opportunity to play alongside their Tottenham teammates in a game for the very first time. Timo Werner, who has rejoined Spurs on a season-long loan, also featured in the match and forced the other goal in the second half.

Playing their first official pre-season match against Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday, it will give Postecoglou the opportunity to take a closer look at his players as they prepare for the new season. The games will start coming thick and fast for the team once they have played in the Scottish capital, with a trip to QPR on the calendar for Saturday before they head off on their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.

Postecoglou is going to have the vast majority of his players available for the Hearts encounter but a handful will be missing due to their international participation this summer. Destiny Udogie is not expected to be fit to play just yet after undergoing surgery to his left quadriceps towards the end of last season, with question marks over Richarlison’s fitness levels at present after he also sat out games in the final few weeks of 2023/24.

The Brazilian was spotted watching on at the training ground from the bench for the Cambridge fixture, although it unclear whether he entered the fray at any point after his recent injury rehab work. Postecoglou does have a number of options in the attacking areas as things stand, though, with Alejo Veliz and Dane Scarlett also potential candidates to start through the middle.

So what exactly is the strongest Tottenham XI Postecoglou can field against Hearts on Wednesday evening? football.london takes a look below.