Jose Mourinho will exchange pleasantries with his old club Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, as his Roma side meet the Lilywhites in Israel for the I-Tech Cup.
Antonio Conte's men most recently beat Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox in a pre-season friendly, while the Serie A side played out a 1-1 draw with Nice.
Match preview
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While most of the headlines coming out of North London have centred around Tottenham's plethora of summer signings, it was an old faithful who was on target twice to steer the Lilywhites over the line against Rangers.
After Antonio Colak had put the Gers ahead in the first half, Harry Kane - who has now celebrated his 29th birthday - struck a quickfire six-minute brace to get Tottenham back to winning ways and maintain their unbeaten start to pre-season.
Conte's side have also beaten a K-League XI and shaken hands with Sevilla on a 1-1 this summer, with fans in South Korea being treated to a particularly demanding training session from the Italian as he prepares his side for a return to the Champions League.
The I-Tech Cup showdown with Roma will represent Spurs' final pre-season friendly before their Premier League season begins against Southampton on August 6, and Fabio Paratici may not be done in the transfer market just yet.
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In typical Mourinho fashion, the former Spurs boss will have no time for sentimentality as he prepares to renew hostilities with one of the few clubs he has managed without winning a piece of silverware.
The Portuguese steered the Giallorossi to Europa Conference League glory last term and has already overseen four summer friendlies back in his homeland, which have produced a mixed bag of results.
After back-to-back 2-0 wins over Sunderland and Portimonense, Roma then went down 3-2 to Sporting CP before settling for a 1-1 stalemate against Nice last Saturday, with Mario Lemina's own goal cancelling out a Billal Brahimi effort, and Mourinho's side also lost 1-0 in a training ground match to Ascoli in midweek.
Following the I-Tech Cup showdown with Tottenham, Mourinho's Roma will have a couple of weeks to recover before kickstarting their Serie A season against Salernitana on August 14, and the Conference League champions have arguably secured one of the coups of the summer transfer window.
Paulo Dybala was given a rip-roaring reception from the Giallorossi faithful after being presented as a new Roma player, and the Argentine will hope to be a part of a Mourinho side who can glean revenge over Spurs after a 4-1 defeat to the Premier League side in the 2018 International Champions Cup.
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Just before it was announced that he had committed his future to the club until the summer of 2025, Conte revealed that defender Ben Davies was struggling with an ankle injury, and the Welshman will likely miss out on Saturday.
Oliver Skipp is also nursing a minor knock to the foot but is thought to have a better chance of making himself available for the I-Tech Cup, where Richarlison could be handed a start as he prepares to miss the opening day of the Premier League season through suspension.
Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Ivan Perisic all had to settle for substitute appearances at Ibrox, and it would not be a surprise to see Conte stick with what he knows works once again.
Meanwhile, Roma have already lost one player to a long-term injury this summer, with young midfielder Ebrima Darboe suffering a cruciate ligament tear in the win over Portimonense earlier this month.
Mourinho's creative starlet Nicolo Zaniolo has been strongly linked with a switch to Tottenham in recent days, and the Italian could be among the starters for Saturday's game.
Tammy Abraham, Nemanja Matic, Chris Smalling and Rui Patricio will also reunite with familiar opposition, while Dybala made his debut in the loss to Ascoli and will push for a starting role here.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Dier, Romero, Sanchez; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Richarlison, Kane, Son
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Kumbulla; Celik, Pellegrini, Matic, Spinazzola; Zaniolo, Dybala; Abraham
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Roma
Tottenham's pre-season so far has been characterised by a penchant for attacking prowess, as well as some defensive frailties, with Conte's side shipping five goals in their three exhibition encounters so far.
Roma's talented attacking triumvirate should therefore be licking their lips ahead of Saturday's game, but we still expect Tottenham to come out on top against their former manager in what could be a thrilling battle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
