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LIVE – Updated at 16:31
Tottenham vs MK Dons LIVE
Tottenham will step up their preparations for the new campaign with their first pre-season friendly of the summer against MK Dons this evening. Spurs maintained their Premier League status on the final day of the 2025-26 campaign by beating Everton and there is a determination from all involved to ensure there is no repeat of a battle against relegation next season.
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been backed in the transfer market with Tottenham already spending over £200million on six new players. Two of those - Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes - are expected to make their first appearances for the club in today’s behind-closed-doors friendly, potentially providing supporters with a glimpse of what’s to come from a new-look midfield pairing.
The friendly will also provide De Zerbi with the opportunity to run the rule over several senior players as well as one or two youngsters, with Mikey Moore and Jamie Donley among those contention to feature after returning from loan spells at Rangers and Oxford respectively. Follow Tottenham vs MK Dons LIVE below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog.
Tottenham vs MK Dons latest news
- Kick-off: 5pm BST | Hotspur Way
- How to watch: SPURSPLAY
- Tottenham team news: Tonali and Fernandes to make debuts
- MK Dons team news
- Standard Sport Prediction
TOTTENHAM CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
16:31 , Arthur FerridgeTottenham XI: Kinsky; Solomon, Davies, Takai, Gray, Kyerematen, Tonali, Fernandes, Gallagher, Tel, Solanke
Subs: Dubravka, Hardy, Byrne, Tye Hall, Donley, Moore, Yang, Williams-Barnett, Scarlett, Richarlison
ICYMI: Why Tottenham have sold Will Lankshear after agreeing club-record deal
16:26 , Arthur FerridgeHighly-rated Tottenham academy striker Will Lankshear left the club today. Sam Tabuteau explains why...
Middlesbrough have agreed a club-record £20million deal to sign Tottenham striker Will Lankshear.
Standard Sport understands that Middlesbrough will pay £10m up front, with a further £10m potentially due in add-ons for the 21-year-old.
Spurs also retain a 20 per cent sell-on clause and matching rights for Lankshear, who joins Middlesbrough in search of regular first-team minutes.
Lankshear is highly regarded internally at Spurs, but acknowledged they could not offer him the game time he needed to develop.
Tottenham team news
16:20 , Arthur FerridgeSpurs are yet to bless us with the knowledge of their starting XI, but their website is teasing it as being released in ‘the next few moments’ so stay tuned!
MK DONS CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
16:17 , Arthur FerridgeMK Dons XI: MacGillivray; Barlaser, Bramall, Crowley, Goode, Hepburn-Murphy, Jones, Paterson, Sanders, Waller, Wintle
Subs: Stacey, Boateng, Burke, Ekpiteta, Kazungu, Kelly, Lewis-Burgess, Matete, Nelson, Perniskie, Silver, Wiles
Injury worries continue
16:16 , Arthur FerridgeTottenham were plagued by injuries last season. Will this one be any different?
Presumably, no. And that is primarily due to the fact that several of last season’s severe injuries will carry over into this one.
As it stands, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus remain sidelined with knee and thigh issues, respectively.
Xavi Simons remains in recovery from his ACL rupture.
Kulusevski did, however, share video of himself playing basketball to his Instagram page last month, so a return to the pitch may be imminent.
De Zerbi explains how he convinced Tonali, Fernandes and Van Hecke to sign
16:06 , Arthur Ferridge“To want to convince one player, I have to be able to come inside their head.
“Tonali was very young when he started to play in Brescia and was a leader, and I think Tonali needs to play in a big club with big motivation.
“For Mateus Fernandes, it is a crucial part of his career because he needs a particular style of play to show all his qualities.
“Van Hecke is like my son because I worked with him for two seasons at Brighton. I know him very well as a character, a personality, as a leader.”
Van Hecke touches down in Enfield
15:55 , Arthur FerridgeTottenham have shared new footage of Jan Paul van Hecke taking in the sights and sounds of Hotspur Way for the first time.
He can be seen undergoing fitness testing and catching up with the likes of Micky van de Ven - his national team-mate - and James Maddison.
It remains to be seen whether he will feature today, but don’t bank on it.
What of Djed Spence?
15:46 , Arthur FerridgeDjed Spence will not be suiting up for Tottenham this afternoon as he enjoys some time off following the World Cup.
But whether he will return to Hotspur Way later this summer remains to be seen.
He is subject to interest from Inter Milan, and is reportedly keen to leave the club this summer.
Spence’s situation will be one to watch as long as the transfer window is open.
Recent results
15:36 , Arthur FerridgeThis is the first match of Tottenham’s pre-season campaign, but the Dons have already been out and about.
They were beaten 2-1 by Croatian side NK Istra five days ago, and beat National League South outfit Maidenhead United 4-1 the week before that.
How did MK Dons fare last season?
15:26 , Arthur FerridgeThe tale of Tottenham’s tumultuous 2025/26 campaign is, by now, well known, but how did today’s opposition get on?
The Dons enjoyed an impressive league campaign, winning 24 of 46 matches as they finished second in League Two - one point adrift of champions Bromley - to earn promotion to League One.
Striker Callum Paterson finished third in the Golden Boot running, finding the back of the net 16 times in 36 appearances.
Cup competitions were not particularly fruitful for Milton Keynes, though. They exited the FA Cup in the third round, losing to Oxford United on penalties, were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the first round by Bristol City, and finished bottom of their group in the EFL Trophy, suffering a 5-1 hammering by West Ham’s Under-21s in doing so.
Tottenham pre-season fixtures in full
15:20 , Arthur FerridgeJuly 22 vs MK Dons, Hotspur Way
July 26 vs Auckland, New Zealand
July 29 vs Sydney, Australia
Aug 1 vs Chelsea, Sydney
Aug 8 vs Getafe, Hotspur Way
Aug 15 vs TSG Hoffenheim, Hotspur Stadium
Aug 16 vs TSG Hoffenheim, Hotspur Way
Predicted Tottenham XI
15:09 , Arthur FerridgeRoberto De Zerbi will presumably utilise as many players as possible today, meaning we could see some unorthodox combinations on the pitch.
Sam Tabuteau has had a crack at predicting how they might line up anyway. Here are his thoughts.
Predicted Tottenham XI: Kinsky, Takai, Phillips, Davies, Udogie, Fernandes, Tonali, Yang, Donley, Tel, Solanke
Tottenham vs MK Dons latest match odds
15:00 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneTottenham to win: 2/9
MK Dons to win: 7/1
Draw: 9/2
Odds via UK betting sites (subject to change).
Head to head (h2h) history and results
14:55 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneTottenham and MK Dons have only ever met once competitively and that was in 2006 with Spurs winning 5-0 in a League Cup fourth round clash.
They have, however, faced off twice before in friendlies and share a win each.
Tottenham wins: 2
MK Dons wins: 1
Draws: 0
Score prediction
14:51 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneAs is always the case with pre-season friendlies, fitness is the most important aspect - closely followed by tactical patterns and then the result.
Spurs are behind MK Dons in terms of preparation, but we would still expect Premier League quality to show here.
Tottenham to win, 3-1.
MK Dons team news
14:45 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneThe MK Dons team is expected to feature a mix of senior players and academy prospects.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing scored in their 2-1 loss to Istra last time out, but should get another run out here.
Tottenham team news: Tonali and Fernandes to make debuts
14:40 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneMateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali are in line to play some part against MK Dons.
Tonali may potentially see his minutes limited, though, as he joined pre-season training late due to work permit issues.
Fellow new signing Martin Dubravka has also been part of training, but those who were involved at the World Cup this summer have not yet joined up with the rest of the squad.
Scotland left-back Andy Robertson was, however, in attendance at Hotspur Way on Tuesday for his first day as Spurs player since signing on a free transfer from Liverpool.
Where to watch
14:35 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneTV channel: In the UK, the game will not be televised live.
Live stream: UK viewers can catch the contest live online via SPURSPLAY. A subscription starts at £45.
Tottenham vs MK Dons - LIVE
14:30 , Tashan Deniran-AlleyneHello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Tottenham vs MK Dons.
After five weeks of non-stop action at the World Cup, it's time for the return of club football as Tottenham face MK Dons in a pre-season friendly.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up, and team news right here ahead of kick-off, which comes at 5pm BST from the Tottenham training ground. Stick with us!
