Tottenham Hotspur team news: Bale and Holtby out, Vertonghen faces late fitness test

Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's opening fixture of the 2013-14 English Premier League season, manager Andre Villas-Boas has revealed the latest team news. Most of it should not come as a surprise to anyone. Two players who will definitely miss the match at Selhurst Park are Gareth Bale and Lewis Holtby. Jan Vertonghen's status, meanwhile, is up in the air.

"Let’s wait and see on Jan," said Andre after training on Friday. "He’s made good progress so there is a small chance he could make the squad."

Even if Vertonghen is able to take part in the match, I think it's much more likely that he's on the bench. A defensive pairing of Younes Kaboul, who played 45 minutes against Espanyol, and Michael Dawson seems on the cards. In addition, Etienne Capoe, who finalized his signing for Spurs yesterday, will likely be included in the squad and could factor in at centerback. When asked about the French midfielder, Villas-Boas had the following to say:

"He’s looking extremely good. He only played 20 minutes for France so he was able to train fully today and he did very well. There have been some good signs from him."

Capoue and other new signings Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, and Roberto Soldado should all be available to make their Premier League debuts in Sunday's match.