Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham starting XI:

Antonin Kinsky: Made a comfortable save from Manzambi's strike before a better one thwarted Buendia. There was little he could do to stop the goals. 6

Pedro Porro: Back after missing the draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton but his return lasted 18 minutes as he limped off injured. Had made a positive start. 6

Jan Paul van Hecke: It looked a robust performance as he handled the nuisance of Jackson when Villa did venture forward but he was beaten by Manzambi to the ball for the opener. Scored late consolation. 6

Micky van de Ven: Took a blow to the face just before the break and was off the pitch for treatment when Villa scored, which summed up Spurs' afternoon. 5

Andrew Robertson: Made a mistake in trying to keep the ball in, which eventually led to Villa's first. Thought he had atoned, only to be ruled offside in the build-up to Kudus' disallowed goal. 5

Sandro Tonali: One first-half strike whistled wide but it was another underwhelming outing for the £100m midfielder. 5

Rodrigo Bentancur: Enjoyed the battle in an occasionally congested midfield but his influence waned as the game wore on. 5

Savio: The forward should have put Spurs ahead early and an excellent volley was kept out by Suzuki, but after a strong opening 25 minutes he failed to build. 5

Mateus Fernandes: Replaced at half-time as Tottenham chased the game, the former West Ham midfielder the victim of the circumstances. 6

Omar Marmoush: The Manchester City loanee was brought in to get the goals but it was a listless display once the game started to go away from Tottenham. 5

Dominic Solanke: The striker has not scored in the Premier League since March and could not find a telling touch again. There was little to suggest his drought would end. 5

Tottenham substitutes:

Archie Gray (on 18, Porro): Could have scored with his first touch but was denied by Suzuki. That was as good as it got. 6

Mohammed Kudus (on 46, Fernandes): Came on with Tottenham needing more attacking impetus and had a goal disallowed but was not able to spark. 5

James Maddison (on 66, Solanke): The substitute was unable to make an impact from the bench. 5

Lucas Bergvall (on 84, Bentancur).

Conor Gallagher (on 84, Tonali).

Subs not used:

Dubravka, Tosin, Senesi, Udogie.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "The game was finished before [we scored the goals]. We played very well in the first half and we created chances to score. We conceded the first two goals in ways that were not acceptable.

"For the first we have to communicate better, we have to stay like a family and we didn't and we conceded a stupid goal. Second goal, we have the offside decision [disallowing Spurs' goal] but the focus had to be better.

"We have to be stronger. We have to put on the pitch something more than we are putting. Football is tactical but it is blood, it is fighting, it is first one on the ball. Without that it is tough to win the game.

"As a coach I take responsibility. I can work better, harder and more. I can explain my opinion about the performance and about what we can do more. But in the end I can't change something more in the behaviour.

"I think we are not lucky in this period but you have to deserve luck and the positive things and we are not good enough to deserve luck in this moment.

"You have to ask the players [if it is good timing for the international break]. We will suffer until the next game and we will try to do better in the future."

Did you know?

• Tottenham have now lost 22 home league games since the start of 2024-25, just one fewer than in their previous four seasons combined (23).

• Tottenham have failed to win any of their previous 48 games in all competitions in which they've conceded the opening goal (D11 L37), with 37 of those games coming in the Premier League (D8 L29).

• This is Spurs' worst start to a Premier League season after five games, with two points and a goal difference of -6, eclipsing their 2008-09 start (2 points, -3 goal difference).

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Roberto de Zerbi's team actually held sway for much of the first period, and with Savio tormenting Aston Villa left-back Matteo Ruggeri, it seemed only a matter of time before they went in front.

Zion Suzuki made three important stops to deny the Brazil winger from close range and enjoyed some good fortune when Archie Gray's effort clipped wide off his heel.

Sandro Tonali also went close during a spell in which the visitors struggled to get out of their own half, and many supporters will be able to draw parallels to their home loss against Newcastle, when they were again the dominant force until conceding.

This time they were initially undone by a panicky attempted clearance from Andy Robertson, with Micky van de Ven off the field.

And once they were behind a Villa win felt like the inevitable conclusion, with Spurs now having failed to win any of their previous 48 games in all competitions in which they've conceded the opening goal.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Tottenham's performance

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Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Tottenham v Aston Villa (12:30)

• Brighton v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Everton v Ipswich

• Newcastle v Hull City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Coventry (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

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Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham and Aston Villa have scored just one league goal between them so far, with both clubs making poor starts to the season. BBC Sport takes a look at the key themes before the game on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Spurs search for spark

In the wake of their Carabao Cup exit to Liverpool, Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi said his side have to find "La Scintilla" (the spark) to kick-start their season and finally score some goals.

This is the first time in the club's 144-year history that they have failed to score in their opening four league matches of a season.

The only time they've ever failed to score in five or more league games at any stage of a campaign was a six-game run between December 1985 to February 1986.

While the sole Premier League side to have ever gone longer than four matches without a goal is Crystal Palace, who took seven matches in 2017-18 before finally breaking their duck.

But that Palace team did go on to finish 11th and none of the other four Premier League teams who also failed to score in their opening four matches ended up finishing lower than that.

Coincidentally, one of those sides was actually Unai Emery's Aston Villa just 12 months ago as they roared into form to eventually finish fourth and lift the Europa League.

De Zerbi's side were much improved in their loss to Liverpool in midweek - actually scoring a goal, registering 17 shots and posting an expected goals tally of 2.34, which is remarkably their highest figure against an English opponent since December 2024.

This slow start was somewhat inevitable after such a huge influx of new players over the summer. Analysis by Opta has uncovered that Tottenham are the 12th team in Premier League history to give 20 or more starts in their first four games of a season to players who didn't play a game for them the season before (excluding promoted teams).

Worryingly for Spurs, only five of the previous 11 teams to do so saw their league position actually improve from one campaign to the next.

A stat doing the rounds in recent weeks has highlighted Tottenham's inability to win a game after conceding the first goal. It now stands at an incredible 47 games in all competitions (D11, L36) dating back to a 4-1 comeback win over Aston Villa in November 2024.

Villa also looking for first win

It is surely no coincidence that the sides to have gone through two of the biggest squad upheavals over the summer have both made such sluggish starts to the campaign.

Aston Villa rank 20th in the Premier League for expected goals this season with their tally of 3.39 marginally worse than opponents Tottenham, while only Hull have had fewer touches in the opposition's box than the Villans' 62. However, unlike Spurs, at least Villa did open their top-flight goalscoring account in their defeat with Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

Next on their list will be avoiding equalling an unwanted club record of failing to win any of their first five matches to a top-flight season for the second season running, and for only the fourth time in their history (also 1919-20 and 1964-65).

But Unai Emery is finally getting the chance to call upon most of his new signings having been without the majority of them for a variety of reasons. So far, only four of their 11 summer recruits have started a league match for the club - Zion Suzuki (three starts), Nicolas Jackson (three), Joao Gomes (one) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (one) - and no more than three have done so in the same league match.

Villa have enjoyed the upper-hand in this fixture in recent years, winning seven of the past 10 in all competitions, and have been victorious on five of their past seven visits to N17.

However, Spurs' win at Villa Park in May was one of the highlights of an otherwise wretched campaign for the Lilywhites.

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has this reputation of being a great coach. We saw what a good job he did at Brighton, but we haven't seen any improvement from Spurs yet, despite the big money they have spent.

He is surely going to come under pressure soon, if their poor results continue.

They are not the only ones to revamp their squad but, if you listen to De Zerbi, after about five years they might come good. He keeps saying they need time, but he's had long enough for their results to be much better already.

Other clubs, like Hull City and Ipswich Town, have brought plenty of players in and are doing well enough - so why aren't Spurs?

I think De Zerbi has to come under scrutiny, but it is different with Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

They are also without a league win, but they look more likely to score goals, as they showed against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

I'm expecting them to improve the same way they did after not winning any of their first five games last season, and I can see them edging this.

Do I give Spurs their first league goal of the season? Yes, but only one. They are due a deflection or Villa will score an own goal.

Something will go for them, but not the result.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Umir Irfan
Football tactics correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

When an attacking side accelerate play, it is common for the defending team to drop back in an urgent manner, looking to protect their goal.

When this happens, space opens up in front of the defence, for late-arriving midfielders or clever strikers that drop back.

Omar Marmoush has tried to do this on a number of occasions but has not always been found.

This may be a matter of players requiring time to gel. For Savio, it may also be a wide player struggling to pull the ball back on their weak foot.

Left-footed right-winger Savio is better at getting to the byeline but the left-footed Destiny Udogie and Andy Robertson have created clearer chances via crosses.

At Marseille, both right winger and right full-back were comfortable cutting the ball back on their right foot.

These crosses were maximised by the excellent box-movement of 37-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Looking at how Roberto de Zerbi is trying to work, it is easier to see how many of Tottenham's attacking moves are almost there in terms of creating clearer chances.

This is not to say things will be perfect immediately. Successful tactics depend on a team's quality - and Marseille's forwards were excellent finishers who thrived in space.

But if the small details across the pitch are refined, Spurs should create enough chances to score, even if they miss a few.

Read more on how De Zerbi can fix here his side's scoring issues here

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pedro Porro, Sandro Tonali and James Maddison are "all available to play" this weekend. Their "physical condition" will be assessed before the match, but "all of them are ready" at present.

• Record signing Tonali is "working very hard" to get up to speed after his summer move: "His adaptation hasn't been fast, but the same happened in his first season at AC Milan. I know he was younger then but it isn't easy to change club, city and style of play - sometimes it comes immediately, sometimes it needs more time."

• He recognises Maddison's "characteristics, experience and passing qualities" are different to his other options in attacking midfield, with Mohammed Kudus not being a natural number 10 and Mateus Fernandes needing to work on being more decisive.

• Dejan Kulusevski, who has not featured at all since May 2025, being back in training to some degree is "great news". The international break will be important for his rehabilitation and he will be "like a new signing" when he is back to full fitness.

• De Zerbi was forced to reiterate that Conor Gallagher isn't "underrated" by him: "When he hasn't played this season, it has been because I needed different characteristics for that game. Maybe last season we needed different things and we had less competition in the squad, but I still love him. He is my player, when I call on him he is always ready to play, fight and run."

• Tottenham must "stay calm, remain confident and keep trying to be better day by day" to secure their first league win of the season. He promised to show improvement "not by words but by facts", but admitted to never experiencing goalscoring problems in his managerial career.

• Selling Will Lankshear to Middlesbrough "wasn't a mistake" because Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush are "good players", plus the Richarlison transfer saga "changed in the last five days of the window". He added: "We have three strikers - how many more do people want me to have in my squad? I think it is enough."

• On whether the three-week international break comes at a bad time after building a three-game unbeaten run following a tricky start: "We have to accept it - nothing more. I would work every day if I could, but if we have to stop then we have to stop."

• Aston Villa's trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the "most important thing" right now. He explained: "If we don't play well, we won't win against them. Let's hope for a good performance."

• Villa counterpart Unai Emery is in a similar position to De Zerbi this season, having "changed many players this summer", so the Italian anticipates a "tough game" for both sides.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Everton are unlikely to pursue Tottenham forward Richarlison despite the 29-year-old being linked with a return to the Toffees over the summer. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Image source, Getty Images

"Small glimpses of success" in Tottenham's opening matches this season show the team is "very close" to finding positive results, summer signing Omar Marmoush has said.

Spurs are winless and goalless in their opening four Premier League matches, but scored against a top-flight side for the first time this season in Tuesday's Carabao Cup loss at Liverpool.

Despite the lack of end product so far, the summer signing from Manchester City believes Roberto de Zerbi's new-look team are creating enough to show that they are close to clicking in attack.

"Every game we create more, more and more and more chances - I'm sure we are very close," Marmoush told club media., external

"If we keep trying - as everyone can see, we reach the goal so many times. We have so much quality on the pitch and from the people that come off the bench to give us this last push. When these small details click, it will be very, very good.

"These moments build the mentality and join the team together. We're all one big family and we push all together. These small glimpses of success give us another push and we have to build this confidence within us.

"I have to say our fans were unbelievable. We've had their support since the very beginning and that's important.

"All of us in the club, the staff, the fans, the coaching staff, everyone around us, we have to support each other in order to reach our goal because that's the only way you can reach it."

Spurs are the latest club to be linked to Argentine striker Mauro Icardi, with the 33-year-old available as a free agent after leaving Galatasaray in July. (Calciomercato - in Italian, external)

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