From Europa Nights to Super Cup Lights: Spurs’ Date with PSG in Udine

So here we are – first-ever UEFA Super Cup appearance, playing in Udine against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. The opening act of the European club season, and we’re right there in the spotlight. No pressure, then.

For PSG, this is basically just another excuse to polish their trophy cabinet. They’ve just completed an unprecedented French quadruple, which, given the way Ligue 1 often feels like a single-team competition, might not surprise anyone. But this time, they finally cracked it in Europe too – their first Champions League title after years of Qatari investment, Neymar dramas, and the annual quarter-final collapses. They didn’t just win it; they demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich, breaking the record for the biggest margin of victory in a Champions League final. Subtle, they are not.

Luis Enrique’s lads even had a sniff at a quintuple before Chelsea spoiled their summer by battering them 3-0 in the Club World Cup final. They barely had time to unpack before the new season rolled around – no friendlies, no warm-up, just straight from Florida to France to Friuli.

Meanwhile, we’ve been busy trying to work out what life under Thomas Frank looks like. Six pre-season friendlies, unbeaten until Bayern Munich decided to remind us what actual German efficiency looks like with a 4-0 thumping. Still, there was a friendly win over Arsenal in Hong Kong, which means we’ve technically already had our season highlight – but a trophy on Wednesday could change that.

Of course, our Europa League win in May – ending 17 years without silverware – wasn’t enough to save Ange Postecoglou, thanks to the small matter of finishing 17th in the Premier League. Yes, we were that team who won in Europe and nearly got relegated. Classic Spurs.

This will be the first Super Cup for us, and neither side has actually won it before. PSG’s only other crack at it was back in 1996–97, when they were smashed 9-2 on aggregate by Juventus. We can but hope history repeats itself… just the losing part for them, obviously.

Team News – and the usual Spurs injury bingo

PSG are frighteningly fit – pretty much everyone’s available, bar Joao Neves, who’s serving a two-game FIFA ban after getting himself sent off in the Club World Cup final. Donnarumma might be on his way out, so Lucas Chevalier could get the gloves.

For us? Well, we’ve already lost James Maddison for most of the season with an ACL injury, which is exactly the kind of uplifting news you want before playing the Champions League winners. Kulusevski and Dragusin are still out long-term, Dominic Solanke’s been missing for most of pre-season, and Destiny Udogie’s a doubt. Other than that, everything’s fine. Totally fine.

Predicted XI:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha, Sarr; Johnson, Richarlison, Kudus.

Wednesday night could be a statement moment for Thomas Frank – or a harsh welcome to life at Spurs, where dreams and disasters often share the same 90 minutes. We might be facing Europe’s most expensively assembled wrecking ball, but hey… we’ve got our first crack at the Super Cup, and after last season, even being here feels like a little miracle.

Besides, we’ve already beaten Arsenal this summer – so anything else is just gravy.