Milton Keynes Dons are next on the agenda for Tottenham, who have now beaten Milton Keynes Dons, Auckland FC, Sydney FC on penalties and Chelsea this summer, in what has been an impressive pre-season campaign. Ahead of their next match, Tottenham News attempts to go inside De Zerbi's mind and predict how he'll line his starting XI up for the test against Getafe.

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.

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. Next fixture: vs Luton (away, 2027-01-16).