Bent will have to sit and wait

Martin Jol bought Bent for £16.5million from Charlton this summer, which was £500,000 more than Barcelona paid for Thierry Henry, to improve Spurs' chances of getting a Champions League place this season.

But the England striker looks like he will have to wait for his chance, even though he scored five goals in pre-season, as Jol is expected to begin the campaign with Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov as his first-choice front partnership.

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Waiting game: Bent is set to be named among the Spurs substitutes against Sunderland

The manager has spent a total of £40m this summer with Gareth Bale, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Younes Kaboul also joining the club, but only the latter will make his debut at the Stadium of Light because the other two aren't fit.

Jol accepts he is under more pressure due to the increased level of expectation at White Hart Lane, but is still working out what his strongest side is.

The Dutchman said: "I don't know what my best team is. I have a few options although at the back it's probably not going to be too different.

"We need to get off to a good start. Two years ago we lost only once in our first 11 games, but last year was totally different.

"We need to do better and if we can make a good start it will give us a foundation to build on."

Meanwhile, Boateng hopes to show why he's called the 'Ghetto Kid' by fighting his way into the Tottenham and Germany team.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who joined from Hertha Berlin for £5.4m, gave himself the nickname after ignoring the lure of crime while growing up in one of the poorest districts in the German capital to play football.

He said: "I don't enjoy the 'Ghetto Kid' thing, it's how I grew up. It was a ghetto because people didn't have much money and they only did criminal things.

"I was under pressure. When I was young I could go two ways, football or the criminal way. But my mind and my heart said just play football.

"The pressure was on my mind because when you're young you think the criminal stuff is cool, but I was strong mentally to think it was not cool.

"I'm not afraid of anything and that goes for the competition to play for Germany and Tottenham."

But the Under-21 international, who insists he will be happy if he gets to play only 12 games for Spurs this season, is worried about being in the bad books with new wife Jennifer.

The duo got married in Germany after his transfer was agreed, but had to return to England straight away and had their honeymoon in a hotel near the club's training ground in Chigwell.

He added: "I have had to promise to her that I will take her away properly next summer. She had the worst honeymoon as she also had to take care of all the paperwork in Germany."

Spurs will be without Aaron Lennon, Ledley King, Lee Young-Pyo and Benoit Assou-Ekottu as they are all out with knee injuries.

Sunderland will make a late fitness check on hamstring victim Greg Halford.