After a long trip from England to Oceania, Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi could field a youthful side against Auckland FC as he looks to manage injury risks.Tottenham Hotspur have less than 24 hours before they kick a ball for only the second time in pre-season this summer. A friendly match against Auckland FC is set to be played in the early hours of Sunday morning, with kick-off scheduled for 4am UK time. Roberto De Zerbi will be hoping to use this game to get his players up to speed, as the 26-27 season is about a month away from starting.Photo by Lampson Yip/Lampson Yip/Clicks ImagesTottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi hints at resting experienced players ahead of Auckland clashSpurs Web has since revealed Tottenham’s squad for their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Among the players selected, there was a good mix of senior stars as well as youngsters. In fact, there were 15 academy talents included in the squad, while the remaining places were taken by more experienced players.After a long trip from Europe to Oceania, Spurs have now landed and begun preparations for the game against Auckland.However, it does seem as though De Zerbi could opt against fielding his more senior players, as he fears the risk of them picking up knocks after a flight that lasted over 24 hours.Speaking about it, he revealed: “It is an important game for us. We are at the beginning of the pre-season. The most important thing is to play a serious game, for sure, and do not take risks for the injuries because it was a very long trip. We are at the beginning of the season. We have a lot of players who suffered too many injuries last season, and we have to be serious on the pitch.Spurs continue to nurse injuries with Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons all sidelined.Many Tottenham fans will remember the ACL injury Maddison suffered last summer in pre‑season, and it appears Spurs are taking precautions to avoid a similar setback this time around.Young Spurs XI expected as Gray leads midfield in trainingReports from Spurs’ training activity do seem to hint that the Lilywhites could field a young side against Auckland FC, who are currently without a manager.Tottenham insider Alasdair Gold shared what he saw in training, revealing that based on his observations it could be a young Spurs starting XI led by Archie Gray in midfield.Footage of Spurs players warming up showed the likes of Gray and Manor Solomon, along with many other youngsters in the group, while James Maddison was not spotted.Archie Gray and Manor Solomon warming up with the younger group of Spurs players here at Eden Park. Can't see James Maddison among the senior players. pic.twitter.com/4utKVN9o05— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) July 25, 2026With a good mix of youth and experience available, we could see the youngsters starting the match, with De Zerbi opting to bring on a select few of the senior players later on.READ MORE: Injured Tottenham star is ‘very close’ to exciting return – Roberto De Zerbi revealsThe post Tottenham set to field youthful XI vs Auckland as Roberto De Zerbi manages one clear risk appeared first on Spurs Web.