Harry Kane will start the Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday. I just can't envisage him not walking out with the team at the Wanda Metropolitano as part of the starting XI.
However, I don't think he should start. There is no way he will be 100 per cent fit. By which I mean his conditioning and sharpness will not be at their best. He may be able to run unrestricted, but that's not the same.
I know he scored six in the first seven games back from injury earlier this year, including in the first game against Burnley.
Harry Kane, pictured in Tottenham training this week, is likely to start against Liverpool
But for a game of this magnitude I think Spurs need to pick their moment to use him. There was a rhythm to pretty much every big game I played in. The game starts at a hundred miles an hour when everyone is fresh and quick. In that period, you don't get much space.
When you get into the next 30 minutes, people are tiring and stepping back a little. However, when you hit the hour mark, gaps start to appear as fatigue begins. Gaps between midfield and defence become bigger. And, crucially, this is the period of the game that is usually decisive.
If I was Mauricio Pochettino, I would use Lucas Moura and Son Heung-min to run the centre-halves to death, pulling them into the channels as much as possible. Those two have proved they can score goals and how dangerous they are.
Then, as the hour approaches, you can deploy Kane, either replacing Moura or Son, or, if you are chasing the game, you can leave them all on. If you play it that way, you're saying to Harry: 'Give me everything you have for half an hour (or more if extra time). You shouldn't have to worry about the injury. Go out there and be as intense as you want to be.' Which is Harry Kane at his best.
Do you get the better of Virgil van Dijk when you're not 100 per cent? Wait until he fatigues a bit and even up the odds. In that final half-hour, the last thing Joel Matip and Van Dijk will want to see is a fresh Harry Kane coming on.
When Harry Kane last returned from injury, in February, after a month out, he still ran further and produced more sprints than his Premier League average for the season.
However, that was against Burnley and not a Champions League final versus Liverpool!
Kane in action against Burnley during Tottenham's 2-1 defeat at Turf Moor in February
Who can halt Trent and Andy show?
There's no doubt the battle of the full backs will be crucial. Those assist stats from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are phenomenal. And Tottenham must be ready for them. The last time they played in March, when Tottenham lost in the last minute to Toby Alderweireld's own goal from Hugo Lloris's error, is a case in point.
In the first half, Spurs played a back three as Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose ended up deep in a back five. That can't happen again. Even if it's a back four, they need to get high up the pitch and get in the faces of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
I would have no worries about Rose. In the second half of the season, he's been up there with Moussa Sissoko as Spurs' best player. Trippier has had a lot of stick after his extraordinary World Cup. He didn't have the best game in the first leg against Ajax and was at fault for one of the second-leg goals.
But I've been there, when you're playing injured. He could just tell the manager he's not really fit and hide. But he's not done that. Kieran has dug in all year, put himself out there even though his groin clearly isn't right.
But he will have had three weeks to get right since the end of the season. In the second half at Ajax, when he played a lot higher, you saw the best of him. Tottenham will need that.
Liverpool full backs Trent Alexander-Arnold (right) and Andy Robertson are phenomenal
