The start of the 2015-16 Premier League campaign may be just over a week away, yet this clash against an MLS All-Star team is Tottenham Hotspur's first official pre-season friendly of the summer.
The encounter, which will be hosted at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver, will pit Spurs against a host of familiar faces, including one that scored over 100 goals for the North Londoners during two separate spells.
MLS All-Star
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It is often difficult to predict what type of performance is going to be produced by the All-Star team, who only play one game a year during the European off-season and have a different squad on each occasion.
Having said that, on paper at least, a strong selection has been made this time around, with the likes of Kaka, David Villa and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard all included.
Also in the 22-man squad is LA Galaxy centre-forward Robbie Keane - a player that is 10th on Tottenham's all-time list of goalscorers with 122 strikes to his name. The Irishman joined Spurs from Leeds United in 2002 and spent six years at White Hart Lane before leaving for Liverpool, only to return 12 months later.
Speaking to Tottenham's official website recently, Keane said: "Every player in the MLS wants to be involved in this game.
"This is a special one for me because it's against Tottenham, my club, the club where I felt I made my name and had a big impact. Everyone knows Spurs is a club very close to my heart, so this is a big deal for me."
Last year, the All-Star outfit claimed a big scalp when they defeated Pep Guardiola's German champions Bayern Munich 2-1 thanks to a winning strike from Landon Donovan.
Recent form: DLLWLW
Tottenham
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While many of their Premier League counterparts have been travelling across the globe over the last two or three weeks, Spurs have opted for a much more modest pre-season schedule.
This clash on Thursday will be the first of the summer for Mauricio Pochettino's men that has not been played behind closed doors.
After that, there will be much tougher opposition for the Lilywhites as they travel to Germany for a four-team tournament at the Allianz Arena that also features hosts Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and AC Milan. Those clashes will be followed by the first game of the new season away at Manchester United.
Looking ahead to this game, Pochettino recently told reporters: "The fact that this will be our only fixture outside of Europe during pre-season says a lot about how we view this game.
"We enjoyed three tough matches last summer in North America and the quality of football in MLS continues to grow every year."
In terms of transfers, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Dele Alli have all arrived and should feature at some stage in this encounter, but Pochettino is expected to make more additions over the coming weeks.
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The big plus for Spurs is that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been named in the squad, which has resulted in suggestions that he has recovered from a broken wrist.
As mentioned above, the quartet of new signings are pushing for inclusion, while the absence on tour of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado - both of whom are expected to leave the club shortly - will mean that England international Harry Kane should spearhead the attack once again.
Meanwhile, there has been little indication as to what side All-Star head coach Pablo Mastroeni is going to start with in Denver.
However, there will be no Frank Lampard or Obafemi Martins following their recent withdrawals through injury.
MLS All-Star possible starting lineup:
Ousted; Beltran, Besler, Marshall, Moor; Gerrard, Kaka, Dempsey, Zusi; Keane, Villa
Spurs possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Trippier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose; Bentaleb, Carroll, Lamela, Chadli, Eriksen; Kane
Head To Head
These two outfits have never played each other before, but the All-Star team do have previous experience of having come up against English opposition.
Of their seven meetings with Premier League sides, the Americans have recorded four wins, including two against Tottenham's London rivals Chelsea.
Their most recent clash against the Blues was three years ago when Eddie Johnson scored a stoppage-time winner, with Lampard and John Terry among the scorers for Chelsea, who were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.
In contrast, there have also been heavy defeats for the MLS players, having lost 5-2 and 4-0 to Manchester United in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
We say: MLS All-Star 1-1 Spurs
It's always difficult to judge the outcome of pre-season friendlies, particularly when a number of substitutions are likely to be made as the game gets older. So many changes tend to disrupt the flow of proceedings, so it would not be a surprise to see this game end in a draw.
Liam Apicella
