Juande Ramos's Tottenham will face a new-look Sunderland at White Hart Lane this weekend – a side full of the Spaniard's cast-offs. After the shock 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday, there’s good reason for Spurs to be cautious, yet quietly confident, with this fixture.

Since former Manchester United star Roy Keane took the managerial helm at Sunderland, they have left a powerful impression on some of the Premier League’s biggest and most dominant teams.

New signings Steed Malbranque, Teemu Tainio and Pascal Chimbonda will all be making an early return to the Lane after their summer moves from Tottenham to the Stadium of Light. The home fans will just be hoping that there is no repeat of last Saturday when another Spurs old boy, Mido, helped make it a miserable opening day at the Riverside.

Still, there were some positives that should be noted from the Boro fixture. The side looked a lot more exciting despite the defeat and boss Ramos thought new arrivals Giovani Dos Santos, Luka Modric and David Bentley appeared to be gelling well. Spurs should be looking for a much-needed victory on Saturday, although memories of last season's opener against the newly-promoted Black Cats will bring unwanted flashbacks for those fans who underestimated Keane's men.

Another reason to be quietly confident is that Sunderland lost their opening fixture to Liverpool. A late goal from Spanish international Fernando Torres secured victory at the Stadium of Light, so both sides will be anxious to break their duck.

In order for Spurs to win, the defence needs to be strengthened and the midfield needs to work harder with regards to supplying quality passes to the front men, or more probably to Darren Bent playing as a lone striker.

Many eyes will be on the young Croatian Modric, who failed to impress anyone except Ramos at Middlesbrough. He has much to prove in this difficult league. Similarly, much emphasis will be on Bent, who will have a golden opportunity to cement a permanent place in the starting line-up, following a successful pre-season in which he scored 13 goals. No doubt Bent will also want to silence his critics – many have accused him of not performing when it actually counts, so again I am expecting big things from him.

I do feel that this game may be in the bag for Ramos as Spurs certainly look to have the better squad out of the two teams. However, Sunderland are a very ambitious club with high hopes for this season. Expect another gritty clash – and a message to the fans: No need to feel too downhearted after Boro. There's still another 37 games to go!