Tottenham are a side in transition, and that transition is being paid for in blood. Roberto De Zerbi has spent £237 million since taking the job in March, and four of his six summer signings are projected to start. But the problem is fitness, not quality. Pedro Porro, Mohammed Kudus, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie all finished preseason without a single minute. That is a nightmare for a manager who demands his full-backs push up and his centre-backs step into midfield. The recent opener at Brentford was a grind — a 0-0 or a tight draw, the kind of game where Spurs looked disjointed, missing the sharpness that De Zerbi's system needs. They are still unbeaten, but they have not clicked. The machine is being assembled in public, and that costs points early.

Newcastle, under Andoni Iraola, are a different beast. Iraola presses high, and he has the players to do it. The predicted XI is a 4-2-3-1 with Horníček in goal, a back four of Miley, Thiaw, Botman and Lewis Hall, a double pivot of Steur and Bamba, and a front line of Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, Touré and Wissa. That is a side built to run through you. They looked lively against Liverpool in Iraola's debut, and the pairing of Wissa and Elanga in behind is a genuine threat. Newcastle are not here to park the bus. They are here to make you uncomfortable. And at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Spurs will try to play out from the back, that press could be the difference.