Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur will meet in the semi-finals of the Audi Cup in Germany on Tuesday, with a place in the final of the competition on Wednesday up for grabs.
A number of European leagues get underway this coming weekend, but Real Madrid are not in competitive action until August 23, when they open their La Liga campaign away to newly-promoted Sporting Gijon.
Head coach Rafael Benitezhas plenty of opportunities to try out new things before the start of the season.
In terms of Real Madrid’s pre-season thus far, it has been a success. They opened with a 0-0 draw against Roma, before losing to the Italian side on penalties.
Los Blancos returned to winning ways in spectacular fashion, however, first beating Manchester City 4-1, before recording an impressive 3-0 victory over Inter Milan.
Real Madrid’s final International Champions Cup match in the United States saw them take on AC Milan, and they won on penalties following a goalless 90 minutes of action.
Benitez wanted to see defensive improvement and his team have only conceded one goal under his stewardship. Fitness is the name of the game in pre-season, but results in football are always important at every level.
Real Madrid are only really in the middle of their preparations for the new campaign, but the same cannot be said for Tottenham, who open their Premier League season away to Manchester United this weekend.
It is not the kindest of starts for the capital outfit, who were beaten 2-1 by MLS All Stars in their first official pre-season match on Thursday.
Harry Kane found the back of the net for Spurs in Colorado, but goals from familiar faces Kaka and David Villa meant that Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffered a narrow defeat.
There is no time for Spurs to dwell on the result, however, as they face two quick-fire games, starting with Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich or AC Milan will be their opponents on August 5 in either the third-place play-off or the final and in truth, whether or not they win this competition is not too important.
Two 90-minute matches are an offer for Pochettino’s team, who have had far less playing-time this summer than a number of their Premier League rivals.
Not too much has been made of Spurs’ summer business, but they have made some smart signings in the window, bringing in Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier to boost the defence.
There is a feeling that the squad is still light in forward areas and it is understood that their movement in the market is far from complete at this stage.Tottenham cannot really afford a slow start to the season, however, with a series of tough games in the opening weeks.
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