Colchester United manager Joe Dunne says he cannot wait for his side to pit their wits against Tottenham Hotspur tonight.

The U’s clash with Andre Villas-Boas’ star-studded side is on the verge of a sell-out, with a crowd of nearly 10,000 expected at the Weston Homes Community Stadium (kick-off 7pm).

Colchester are expected to field a strong side against Colchester, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon set to play some part in the game.

Dunne said: “We’re delighted to have Spurs coming to the Community Stadium.

“It’ll be a pleasure for us to play against them.

“It’s great for the people of Colchester to see a top side come to our stadium and it’s a wonderful game for us.

“We’ll be chasing the ball a lot of the time but we have to make sure that we get as much as we can out of the game, from both a fitness and tactical point of view.

“We’ll have goals set for each game that we play in pre-season.”

For a full preview of tonight's pre-season friendly between Colchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, see Friday's Daily Gazette.