Spurs up the preseason stakes with Wembley Cup
Redknapp is relishing the opportunity to face Barcelona
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By Adam Leveridge. |  |
Friday, 24, Jul 2009 04:54
Preparations for the upcoming season have already begun in earnest but this weekend sees a massive shift through the gears for one English team as Tottenham Hotspur take part in the inaugural Wembley Cup.
The national stadium will open its doors to fans from Celtic, Egyptian champions Al Ahly and, the pièce de résistance, Barcelona.
Spurs take on the European champions in Friday's main event looking to build on a sequence of three results that have seen them score ten without reply.
They will, though, have to face the likes of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry without a recognised centre-half after Michael Dawson, Jonathon Woodgate and Ledley King all had questions raised over their fitness ahead of the new season. As a result new signing Kyle Naughton could be handed a debut against the continent's most potent strike force.
"Barcelona at the moment is the best team in the world," said manager Harry Redknapp. "If you look at the performance in winning the European Cup it makes them champions of Europe and there is no-one in the world who could match them at the moment, apart from Manchester United and Chelsea, who are very close."
Samuel Eto'o has not travelled with the Catalan giants as he irons out the transfer that looks set to see him swap with Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Celtic will kick-off the tournament against Al Ahly before the Scots line-up against Redknapp's troops on Sunday.
The cup itself follows a simple round robin format with three points awarded for a win and one for a draw. In the event the teams are tied aggregate goals will be taken into account.