Tottenham Aim to Rebuild Against Charlton in Carabao Cup

Tottenham Hotspur return to north London on Wednesday night with a point to prove and a reputation to rescue.

Four days on from being taken apart 3-0 in their Premier League opener at Brentford, Roberto De Zerbi finds himself under early scrutiny, already conceding that his lavishly rebuilt squad “is not a team yet”. The Carabao Cup now arrives as both a test and a lifeline.

This is not the competition Spurs built a £350 million-plus summer overhaul for. But right now, they cannot be picky. They need a performance.

Spurs searching for a response

The optimism of pre-season vanished in 90 grim minutes at the weekend. Tottenham were flat, disconnected and blunt in attack, the new faces failing to knit into anything resembling De Zerbi’s high-tempo blueprint.

The numbers behind the rebuild have dominated the headlines. The football has not. Against Brentford, Spurs struggled to string moves together, rarely threatened, and never looked like dragging themselves back into the contest once they fell behind.

Charlton arrive in a very different mood.

The Addicks have opened their Championship campaign with two wins from two, then swept past Cheltenham Town in the first round of this competition. Confidence, rhythm, goals – all the things Tottenham are still searching for – are already in place in the away dressing room.

History, though, leans heavily towards the hosts. Spurs have won their last five meetings with Charlton by an aggregate score of 16-4, a record that underlines the gap between the clubs over the past two decades.

De Zerbi will know that counts for nothing if his players drift through another evening. Charlton have already shown this season they can punish sides who turn up half a yard short. Spurs cannot afford another lesson in complacency with the Premier League resuming this weekend and belief already fragile.

Team news: spotlight on Savio

The biggest selection question hangs over the club’s £85m signing Savio, now fully registered and finally available to pull on a Tottenham shirt.

De Zerbi has refused to reveal whether the Brazilian will be thrown straight into the starting XI or eased in from the bench, but the temptation will be strong. Tottenham are running out of attackers.

James Maddison is sidelined for around two weeks after suffering a small shoulder fracture in the Brentford defeat, stripping Spurs of their main creative hub. Mohammed Kudus is still not ready, continuing his recovery from a thigh problem.

Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons remain long-term absentees, leaving De Zerbi to juggle a threadbare forward line in a game he can hardly afford to treat as a gentle experiment.

There is better news further back. Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will be in a matchday squad for the first time this season, though both are expected to start on the bench as they build fitness.

Up front, Dominic Solanke is ready to lead the line from the first whistle after returning from injury as a substitute at the weekend. His presence gives Spurs a focal point they badly lacked in long, scrappy spells against Brentford.

Archie Gray may keep his place at right-back after a testing but valuable outing, while Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur are pushing for starts in midfield. Another of the headline additions, £85m man Mateus Fernandes, is also in contention to come in and give the side a different tempo in the middle of the pitch.

On the fringes, Luca Williams-Barnett is expected to be among the substitutes again after catching the eye in pre-season. For a club under pressure, his energy and fearlessness could yet become useful tools.

De Zerbi has promised rotation but not recklessness. He cannot send out a shadow XI and hope for the best. Not after Saturday. Not with the atmosphere already twitchy.

Tottenham need more than just a result against Charlton. They need signs of a plan, of combinations forming, of that expensive squad starting to look like a team. If that doesn’t start on Wednesday night, the questions will only get louder.