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Tonight's friendly between Tottenham Hotspur and Toronto FC kicks off at 7:00 PM eastern. The big news is that Ben Davies, who is a left back, will be starting tonight at left back. Kyle Walker has apparently recovered from his groin injury and will be available off the bench. The rest of the team looks roughly the same as we saw for the friendly in Seattle. The starting lineup is different, but attempting to parse meaning from that seems pointless to me.
Jermain Defoe starts for Toronto.
#THFC team v @torontofc: Friedel, Naughton, Kaboul, Veljkovic, Davies, Capoue, Mason, Lamela, Lennon, Eriksen, Soldado. #THFCTOUR #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 23, 2014
#THFC subs v @torontofc: McGee, Fredericks, Walker, Rose, Dawson, Fryers, Falque, Carroll, Ceballos, Townsend, Holtby, Kane. #THFCTOUR #COYS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 23, 2014
The @ExpediaCA Starting XI: Konopka, Hall, Orr, Henry, Morgan, Oduro, Warner, Bekker, Lovitz, Gilberto, Defoe #TFClive
— Toronto FC (@torontofc) July 23, 2014
We will see if Pochettino's lineup shakes out as another 4-3-3 with Étienne Capoue in the pivot or a 4-2-3-1 with a double pivot of Ryan Mason and Capoue. This looks pretty close to a first-choice front four, so it will be fun to see how well they work together.
The match will be televised on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and Watch ESPN in the United States. It will also, I think, be streaming on the official TottenhamHotspur.com website for subscribers there.
COYS(DGI). Come on you Spurs (don't get injured).
Enjoy the match, and remember the advice of Bill and Ted. Be excellent to each other.