Tottenham Hotspur

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham fans got to celebrate a rare and vital home victory after a poor start to their campaign in which they drew three and lost three of their opening six league games.

Wins for Fulham and Bournemouth earlier in this round of fixtures left Spurs as the last club to register a victory in the Premier League.

Roberto de Zerbi's team looked to be in total control at the break against a Coventry City side that had not registered a shot on target in the first half.

James Maddison had begun his career at Coventry and scored against his former side with a stunning opening goal.

But Tottenham, who only avoided relegation on the final day of the 2025-26 season, made it hard for themselves as they conceded soon after the restart.

Just as the home fans were getting nervous though, Omar Marmoush scored with a powerful shot, but Coventry were unhappy the goal was allowed to stand, with the elbow on Milan Van Ewijk judged accidental.

Newly promoted Coventry had won their past two Premier League matches and had eight minutes of stoppage time to find an equaliser, but could not create a decisive opportunity, before Davies made it 3-1.

The returns of Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski provide a huge boost to Tottenham.

Both suffered knee injuries at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, missing Tottenham's Europa League final victory and then in Kulusevski's case the entirety of last season.

The Spurs fans gave Kulusevski a huge reception when he warmed up in the first half, repeatedly singing his name in the second before he came on as an 85th-minute substitute to one of the biggest cheers of the night.

The only negatives for Tottenham were injuries to defenders Andrew Robertson and Tosin Adarabioyo, while Marmoush also limped off when being replaced by Kulusevski.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Tottenham starting XI:

Antonin Kinsky: Fumbled first-half corner and not great with his feet. 5

Tosin Adarabioyo: Powerful in the air and did well in the physical challenges until he went off injured. 6

Jan Paul van Hecke: Disappointing night. Uncertain moments and lost possession for Coventry City's goal, but did make one brave clearance. 5

Micky van de Ven: Superb tackle to stop Brandon Thomas-Asante in the first half and solid all-round display. 7

Archie Gray: Busy and did his best to give Spurs some creative edge. 6

Sandro Tonali: Occasional flashes but still struggles to justify his £100m price tag. Needs to produce more. 6

James Maddison: Brilliant strike on his first start for 18 months. Always prompting and probing. Revelled in his return to the starting line-up until understandably tiring. 8

Andrew Robertson: Some trademark surging runs and always willing to join the attack but picked up an injury. 6

Mohammed Kudus: Mixed night. Some good things but too often short of end product. 5

Omar Marmoush: Had struggled but then scored a superb goal. 6

Dominic Solanke: Tireless but little luck. Booked and had a shot on the turn over in first half. 5

Tottenham substitutes:

Conor Gallagher (on 69, Maddison): Not able to get into the game. 5

Mateus Fernandes (on 69, Tosin): Little impact. 5

Ben Davies (on 69, Robertson): Experienced head to close out the win and got himself a goal. 6

Mathys Tel (on 87 Marmoush).

Dejan Kulusevski (on 87 Kudus).

Subs not used: Dubravka, Senesi, Olusesi, Williams-Barnett.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi, spoke to BBC Sport after his side's victory against Coventry City: "I am delighted for the result, the attitude, the spirit and the reaction after the goal we conceded. Honestly we did not play so well like the last games. But now for our responsibility they deserve credit as they defended very well and compact.

"When we went outside from [Mohammed] Kudus and [Andrew] Robertson we didn't push the ball with the right speed. We were too predictable maybe playing three at the back. We played three at the back for injury reasons, first of all.

"We play with Kudus right wing and Robertson left wing and with three number 10s with different characteristics. We scored two goals with these players but we can't forget [Dominic] Solanke as he played very well.

"Now we have to understand we are able to win because after two or three seasons like this, the mental aspect is crucial. We have to thank the fans, especially in the last part of the game they were fantastic, they have suffered a lot. We have to push, we have to improve the quality of the play for sure but we are a good team, a very good team."

On Dejan Kulusevski returning: "Fantastic moment and fantastic human. We celebrated him in the dressing room after the game. He is maybe the most important thing after this win."

Spurs midfielder James Maddison, spoke to Sky Sports: "I hoped [to start]. I spoke to the gaffer about it this week and feeling like the right moment for me to go back into the starting 11 after a stop-start, start to the season.

"I just wanted to show my quality and show what the team's missed in the last 18 months since my last start. The gaffer asked me to play and said he wanted to enjoy watching me from the side so hopefully I did that, and getting the goal is always nice."

On his goal: "They're just a bit blurry; they're the ones you dream of. Recovering from the ACL last year, those dark days. They're the ones you dream of, those goals. Always the light at the tunnel for you.

"And for Dejan Kulusevski I felt proud for him because I knew exactly how he felt. Those moments and those goals they make it all worth it."

On his game position: "That's where I operate best, in the pockets on the outside of the lines. I was popping up on the left, right and centrally and that's where I'm at my best. Between the lines and being able to pick up the pockets of space and that's where the goal came from."

Did you know?

• Since making his Premier League debut in August 2018, Maddison has scored 21 goals from outside the box, at least two more than any other player (Kevin De Bruyne & James Ward-Prowse, 19 each).

• Tottenham's victory was just their sixth win in their last 37 home Premier League games (D10 L21), and their fourth league victory overall in 2026 (P27 D10 L13).

• For the first time in 36 games, Spurs scored more than two plus goals in a Premier League match, while it was the first time they scored three plus goals on home soil in the league since MD1 last season against Burnley (3-0).

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

Have your say on Tottenham's performance

What did you make of Coventry's display?

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

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Tosin Adarabioyo is set to make his full Premier League debut for Tottenham against Coventry City on Monday.

The 29-year-old centre-back arrived from Chelsea on transfer deadline day but has so far made just one substitute appearance in the top flight for Spurs, coming on as a late substitute in the 0-0 draw against Everton last month, but he did start the Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool.

Tottenham spent the past few days on a training camp in Marbella, where head coach Roberto de Zerbi is understood to have worked on potential tweaks to the team's defensive approach for the home fixture against Frank Lampard's newly promoted side.

If, as expected, Adarabioyo does play, it will be the defender's first top-flight start since May, which was for Chelsea against Nottingham Forest.

Tottenham remain without a league win this season and go into the match against Coventry bottom of the table on three points. The visitors are 16th with six points having secured back-to-back victories either side of the international break.

Tottenham will be fresh from their training camp in Marbella and we are about to find out if it worked.

If they don't beat Coventry and get their first win of the season, then they will probably have to go back out there next week as well.

Being serious, they do look like they are improving already and they played well against Manchester United last week.

Coventry are a dangerous counter-attacking team, and their pace in forward areas will cause problems, but this is going to be Tottenham's night.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Hearing about Tottenham's team-bonding trip to Marbella last week made me think about the similar methods I used as a manager to build team morale.

While some things have changed from my day, the idea behind taking your players away to a new environment where they will benefit from spending a lot of time together has not.

Roberto de Zerbi needed time with his players on the training pitch after their poor start to the season, to bed them in and build a proper team.

He will have used their warm-weather camp in southern Spain to do more of that, getting to know what is almost a new squad of players.

With De Zerbi being cut from Italian cloth, I'm sure the players will have been working mornings and afternoons to drill in the manager's principles in respect to team shape and direction.

But that's not the only purpose of taking them away - he will have been able to also monitor the different personalities within the group away from the grass.

If the trip has worked then, as well as getting them ready to face Coventry City on Monday night, I'm sure he will now understand the strengths and weaknesses of each individual, on and off the field, for the very first time.

A few eyebrows were raised about Tottenham going away so early in the season, but it makes perfect sense to me when you consider so many new players arrived there this summer.

When I was Stoke manager, I often took my teams away to Austria in our pre-season for the same reasons De Zerbi and Tottenham have gone to Spain.

Those trips were not only set up to test the players' fitness, but also to see how the group worked together.

I've always believed in building a family togetherness within the dressing room, with a commitment from every player to the benefit of the team.

The extreme tests that we asked our players to do over that 10-day period brought out an inner determination to fulfil the tasks given to them and, in my opinion, helped us through some tough times early on in our Premier League campaigns.

Watching the lads slowly bond together on the training pitch and at meal times was great to see - and I found out a lot about all of them, good and bad.

Read Tony Pulis' full column here

Tottenham are continuing to monitor Eintracht Frankfurt's German forward Younes Ebnoutalib, 23. (TeamTalk), external

Tottenham are interested in signing Japanese midfielder Yuito Suzuki, 24, from Freiburg as Roberto de Zerbi looks to strengthen his squad. (Fussball News via CaughtOffside), external

Arsenal and Tottenham are keeping an eye on Barcelona youngster Xavi Espart, 19, but they could be held back by the Spanish defender's significant release clause. (CaughtOffside), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham go in search of a first league win of the season against a Coventry City side who have roared into form with back-to-back victories. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes going into Monday's fixture.

Can Tottenham banish home woes to record a first victory?

In the wake of their draw with Manchester United, Tottenham headed to Marbella for a few days of warm weather training and, more importantly, squad bonding. "The target is to build the team," head coach Roberto de Zerbi explained. "We are a great group of players, but we are not a team yet."

His side certainly looked like more of a cohesive unit at Old Trafford, but their slick approach play was squandered by yet more profligacy in front of goal as their winless start stretched to six league matches.

Only two top-flight sides have completed more passes in the final third than Spurs' 770 and just three teams have had more touches in the opposition box than their 182. Yet a shot conversion rate of 3.6% is the worst in the league and De Zerbi's side have underperformed their xG by 3.6 goals.

Three goals after six league matches is the second lowest tally in their history, beaten only by the two scored at the start of 2006-07.

They are still yet to lead in a league match this season or score a goal before the 86th minute.

One thing they still cannot count on is home comforts. They have managed a paltry five wins in their past 36 league matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, dating back to November 2024.

Moreover, they have fallen behind in a remarkable 52 of their 79 home league games since the start of 2022-23.

Sky-high Sky Blues looking to make it a hat-trick of wins

Coventry travel to north London on the crest of a wave having made it back-to-back wins in style with a 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle. Six points from six games is the same as Manchester United have mustered and is a long way from the zero points and zero goals they had taken from their opening four matches.

These crucial - and potentially season altering - victories over Nottingham Forest and Newcastle mean the Sky Blues have the chance to become only the fourth top-flight side to lose their opening four matches to a season then win three in a row after Derby County in 1899-00, Arsenal in 1923-24 and Aston Villa in 1997-98.

A victory would also mark the first time they have won three Premier League matches in succession since a run of five between January and February 1998 under Gordon Strachan.

Although their most famous win of all came against Tottenham in the 1987 FA Cup final, their past five meetings have all ended in defeat and they last won away at Spurs in 1997.

However, that victory was particularly memorable as their 2-1 win on the final day of the season helped secure their top-flight status in highly dramatic circumstances.

In 19th position at kick off, goals from Dion Dublin and Paul Williams helped them leapfrog both Sunderland and Middlesbrough to finish one place and one point above the drop zone.

One man who does knows how to avoid defeat against Tottenham is head coach Frank Lampard.

During his playing days he won more matches against Spurs than he did against any other opponent and lost just eight of 41 encounters. As a manager, he has been beaten in only two of six meetings with the Lilywhites.

George Booth
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Monday's Premier League game against Coventry City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Forward Savio will be ruled out "for some weeks" after suffering a "muscular problem" after the 1-1 draw at Manchester United.

• De Zerbi also confirmed Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall will miss Monday's game after feeling "pain" in his knee. The Spurs boss added: "The day after Manchester on Sunday, he came to the training ground to our medical staff and I think [he is out for] two weeks."

• Midfielder Dejan Kulusevski will make a return to the matchday squad after being sidelined since May 2025. The Spurs boss said the 26-year-old's return was "great news" and that Kulusevski "deserves to feel emotion on the pitch".

• Pedro Porro will continue to recover from a hamstring injury, and the Spain defender may return against Chelsea.

• On Richarlison playing with the under-21s, De Zerbi said: "It's not my problem anymore" and that he has "no problem with nobody".

• He added: "You have to ask Vinai [Venkatesham] (chief executive) and Johan [Lange] (sporting director). I know as a coach I have to accept, to support, to take responsibility, even if it is not my responsibility. If he wants to speak about me, he knows where he can find me. I don't want to speak anymore because my focus is on the Coventry game and the focus is for us to improve my team."

• On facing Coventry: "Coventry is a good team. They played a fantastic Championship last season. They deserved to win the league and to play in the Premier League this season. They played with energy and quality. We want to show ourselves to be good and win the games, especially if we deserve to win the games."

• Spurs' training camp trip to Marbella "worked well", and it allowed players to make "connections".

• He added: "I think we have to improve in the result, not in the quality of the performances, but you have to find all the ways to improve. Ways to be better, ways to become stronger as a group. The players spent time together, and they stayed together a lot."

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham fan Kish Patel has been discussing Roberto de Zerbi's options at centre-back for Monday's match against Coventry.

"[Marcos] Senesi and [Jan Paul] van Hecke played very well against Manchester United. They cut through United's press with ease and broke multiple lines at once to get us back to front very quicky.

"I thought that was a great plan that worked well, but the Coventry game is a whole different proposition. They will be very compact and look to block the central spaces, not allowing Spurs to cut through as easily as they did against Manchester United. I don't think the direct pass is going to be on.

"The trade-off is not worth it to drop [Micky] van de Ven because I don't think those centre-backs are going to have as much relevance in the game as they did against Manchester United.

"It will be about playing shorter passes, going around the block and playing through the flanks a bit more. For that reason, I think Van de Ven has to come back in because he is such a good recovery defender.

"Personally, I would like to see Senesi partner Van de Ven and is slightly better defensively than Van Hecke."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds here or by pressing play below

Image source, Getty Images

Can James Maddison be the missing piece of the puzzle for Tottenham?

Former Coventry City academy coach Richard Stevens believes the midfielder has the ability "to connect everything together" for Roberto de Zerbi's side, who remain winless in the Premier League after six matches.

Maddison, who is coming back from injury, came off the bench at Manchester United on Saturday for a fifth time this season and made an impact as Spurs fought back to leave Old Trafford with a point.

"His driver is, 'am I playing 90 minutes and can I go and score some goals and ignite the fans?'," said Stevens. "Even in a 10-minute spell, when he comes on he takes the ball and he makes things happen.

"He makes things tick and he gets the team playing forwards. He gets the team moving up the pitch.

"And, good grief, Tottenham have had a tough time. They're an unbelievable football club and you know the players they have, maybe he's the bit that's going to connect everything together.

"I hope he's going to return and he's going to connect everything together for Tottenham because I think he has that ability to do that."

Maddison will face his boyhood club Coventry City on Monday for just the third time since being sold on transfer deadline day in 2016 aged 19.

"Everybody's really proud and Coventry will be proud as well," added Stevens. "They'll be looking forward to playing against him, I'm sure."

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

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Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore says the success of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham in the Bundesliga influenced his decision to join FC Koln.

The 19-year-old became the latest English talent to move to the German top flight after completing a season-long loan move to the RheinEnergieStadion last month.

Speaking on Thursday's Euro Leagues podcast - which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live at 21:00 BST - before Friday's Bundesliga match with Eintracht Frankfurt, Moore revealed that the success of his fellow Englishmen had inspired him to turn down offers from England in favour of a move to Germany.

"I think over the years you've seen so many young players come out here, and there are some really good examples of world-class players like Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho doing really well," Moore said.

"It's a really attractive place to play football, especially for a young attacker. It's a great platform to play, and that was sold to me by the people at the club and the manager.

"They've put real trust in me, and the amount of game time I've played so quickly in my Koln career has been nice. It's been good to have that trust from all the staff and people at the club.

"I'm already happy with my decision. Now I can really kick on, make my own story and build my own path in German football."

Although Moore only turned 19 in August, he is no stranger to stepping outside his comfort zone.

Last season, he made 47 appearances in all competitions, including the Champions League qualifying rounds, during a loan spell at Scottish Premiership side Rangers.

It was the first time Moore had left his boyhood club Tottenham, and he rose to the challenge, scoring six goals and providing two assists in 28 Scottish Premiership appearances.

The experience offered a different test to the one he now faces in Germany, but it provided valuable exposure to the demands of first-team football.

"I had options to stay in England and maybe stay somewhere a little more comfortable," Moore said.

"But the conversations came down to me picking a team, and I wanted to take myself a little bit out of my comfort zone to test myself in a big league and one of the top five leagues.

"When we were speaking, everyone said they thought it would be a really good experience for me to experience this type of football.

"It's really intense, and there are some great teams in the league.

"For me, it was a no-brainer. I made the decision early that I wanted to come out here, and now I just need to push on."

Read the full article here

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Less than four years after representing Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, Richarlison's downward spiral was laid bare as he scored in front of a couple of hundred supporters for Tottenham's under-21s against Cheltenham Town in the EFL Trophy.

The Brazilian, who cost Spurs £60m from Everton and was rubbing shoulders with Neymar Jr and Vinicius Jr on international duty not so long ago, looked almost embarrassed to celebrate his thumping half-volley against the League Two outfit.

He also notched a penalty in a shootout that Spurs' reserves lost 7-6 after a 2-2 draw.

The 29-year-old was making only his second appearance of the season, and his first since the end of August against Brentford, having been left out of Tottenham's Premier League squad.

Roberto de Zerbi insisted the decision to omit him from the club's 25-man squad in September was not his, following the forward's failed move back to Merseyside at the end of the summer transfer window.

But Spurs are the top-flight's lowest scorers this season with just three goals, so the decision to leave last season's 12-goal leading scorer out of their league plans looks increasingly difficult to justify.

For a couple of hours on transfer deadline day, it seemed only a matter of time before Richarlison left Tottenham.

He was closing in on an idyllic return to Everton, more than four years after swapping Merseyside for North London.

But, after expressing his desire to depart, a proposed move to Hill Dickinson Stadium fell through, leaving both the player and the club with few alternatives at such a late stage in the window.

A proposed move to Brazilian side Vasco da Gama also fell through after Richarlison failed to agree personal terms.

He was also ruled out of Spurs' Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool last month, with only players registered in their club's respective league squads eligible to feature in the competition.

The ex-Watford forward may now have to get used to the surroundings of English football's lower leagues, with the EFL Trophy's group stage offering him a rare opportunity to gain competitive minutes before January.

Read the full article here

Pedro Porro's time at Tottenham is drawing to an end, with Barcelona keen on the 27-year-old defender. (Sport - in Spanish), external

Tottenham, Manchester United and Evertonare keeping tabs on 6ft 5in Dinamo Zagreband Croatia striker Dion Beljo. (Teamtalk), external

Tottenham, Brighton, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are among the teams interested in Benfica's 18-year-old Portuguese right-back Daniel Banjaqui. (4-4-2.ch - in German), external

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

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