Tottenham Hotspur

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Tottenham and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your comments:

Spurs fans

Errol: We didn't play as well as last week at Chelsea but it was great to get another three points on the board and keep another clean sheet. We are playing much more like a team now rather then a bunch of individuals as we were in those first five games. Just wish our forwards would start scoring now and we'll be fine, onwards and upwards.

Tom: Played well against a poor opposition with 10 men but, unfortunately, the missing link is still blatantly obvious. Spurs desperately need a goalscorer. Dominic Solanke had one shot, that's not good enough. Roll on January.

Richard: We looked controlled against a limited Palace side. Sandro Tonali is starting to look the part and both wide men had decent games. Omar Marmoush still makes poor decisions in the final third and we should have made the game look even more comfortable with a third and fourth goal. Overall, a solid performance and rarely looked in trouble, but we will need to be more clinical to keep upward trajectory.

Neil: Good result. Positive signs. Even getting some luck! Still a work in progress and a long way to go. Attitude, passion, running, teamwork are the key elements previously missing - now we must not lose them.

Palace fans

Sean: We are in trouble. Jean-Philippe Mateta has earned himself a three-match mini-break. Ismaila Sarr is a ghost. Feel sorry for Pierre Sage - he's never had the full complement of players at his disposal. But has he got the chops to turn this around?

John: Going forward, I really like Sage ball. But when it comes to keeping the opposition out, we just can't defend. Outscoring the opposition in each match is just not a realistic outcome to expect.

Stephen: Give Sage more time. He's not been able to field a settled defence, midfield or attack. At times the team has looked woeful, but just as often they've looked bright and exciting. Patience needed!

Adrian: The game was gone as soon the red card came out. Our defence is just not good enough, which is partly down to lack of recruitment but also the current players are not good enough and clearly there are some technical coaching issues. Zonal marking also an issue. We won't get anything against Liverpool because our forward line is injured or suspended, the coach looks resigned and the fans have some issues with other aspects of the club. Not a great feeling at the moment.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

We are witnessing a significant mood shift at Tottenham, reflected inside this magnificent arena since the psychological barrier of the vital first league win was crossed against Coventry City.

Head coach Roberto de Zerbi told Match of the Day after his side's victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday: "The passion we showed - we didn't lose the focus, the concentration. We made an incredible reaction when we lost the ball.

"We could have scored more goals, but we created many chances. We have to be more nasty, especially in the last third of the match, especially in the finishing. I'm happy because I knew before this would be a tough game."

De Zerbi pleaded for patience for his big summer acquisitions, with midfield duo Sandro Tonali, a £100m arrival from Newcastle United, and £85m signing Mateus Fernandes, who came from West Ham United, both starting slowly.

While any optimistic verdict on Spurs in recent times always comes with natural caution attached, the expensive pair are now showing signs of why De Zerbi was prepared to pay such prices to make them part of his transformation.

Tonali started to come to life against Coventry and against Palace he was pivotal with his running power, physicality and creation. Fernandes was lively throughout, always looking for the opening, the pass that could make a difference.

And once again, to the usual rapturous reception after his long injury absence, Dejan Kulusevski delivered a lively cameo as substitute, a real threat as he also forced a fine save from Palace keeper Dean Henderson.

There is a sense that something is finally stirring at Spurs, that the £300m spent in the summer might just reap a reward – as you would expect for such a lavish outlay.

Read the full piece here

Tottenham are still interested in Nottingham Forest's England midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and could make a move for the 26-year-old in January. (Football Insider), external

Barcelona and Real Madrid remain keen on Pedro Porro and are not put off by Tottenham's asking price of about £62m for the right-back. (Sport - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, Spurs Manchester City and Manchester United are among the clubs tracking Villarreal's 22-year-old United States defender Alex Freeman. (Football Insider), external

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

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Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

Roberto de Zerbi's Tottenham transformation continued with a third win in a row to move his side into the top half of the Premier League table.

It was vital Spurs built on that crucial first win of the season at home to Coventry City, then an outstanding performance and result to record a rare victory at Chelsea.

Spurs were helped by Jean-Philippe Mateta's crude challenge on Mickey van de Ven, which was only going to end one way once referee Michael Oliver was sent to the screen.

Aside from the sending off, there are now clear signs that Spurs are achieving coherence and confidence under De Zerbi, while some of his big-name summer signings are now coming to the party.

Sandro Tonali may still represent eye-watering business at £100m, but there is no doubt the Italian has moved on to a new level in recent weeks after a slow start, providing a potent combination of running, physicality and creation.

And Mateus Fernandes, who also struggled initially, now looks full of confidence as Spurs finally show the self-belief that has been in such short supply in recent seasons.

In other words, things are now looking much brighter for Spurs and De Zerbi.

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi, speaking to Match of the Day: "The passion we showed anyway, we didn't lose the focus, the concentration. We made an incredible reaction when we lost the ball. We could have scored more goals, but anyway, we created many chances. We have to be more nastily, especially in the last third of the match. Especially in the finishing. Happy because I knew before the game a tough game that we could play today.

On the red card changing the game: "I don't agree. For them, nothing changed. They play with 10 players and I think it is always better to play against 10 and not 11, but as a plan of the game, I think nothing changed. For that I knew before the game. We prepared this game in a different way to Chelsea, for example. The game against Chelsea you play in 80-90 metres man to man. Today we played in five metres in small, small spaces. To be good in small spaces, you have to stay focused and make not too many mistakes.

"I think we were also pleased with the performance for this reason."

On the mood improving: "Listen, we are Tottenham, so we can't forget to be ambitious. To be hungry, to win games in a row, and to make our fans happy at the same time as we can't forget two weeks ago where we have been in the table, to change the last two-to-three seasons of this club. Three games in a row is not enough, we have to keep this behaviour, this spirit. This condition to prepare every game in the same way.

"I think even before the national break we were playing well not 90 minutes, not with this behaviour, not with this union between the players. After the national break, we spoke together honestly, and we decided to change the mood quickly because in football, you can't ask for time. Especially if you have a good players like we have. I think nothing has changed, but the mood, spirit, the relationship with the players are totally different."

Did you know?

• Spurs had 34 shots and faced just two against Crystal Palace tonight. It's the biggest shot difference (32) they've had against an opponent on record in the competition (since 2003-04), and biggest for any side since Liverpool against Wolves in May 2024 (36-4)

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 Crystal Palace's display?

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

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

• Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Leeds United

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry City v Sunderland - first half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, second half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Hull City v Ipswich Town

• Manchester City v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Crystal Palace (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated.

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Improving Tottenham are aiming to make it three wins in a row as they take on a Crystal Palace side who are struggling to find form under new boss Pierre Sage.

BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes ahead of Saturday's game (17:30 GMT).

Tottenham on upward trajectory

While Tottenham fans entered their match with Coventry two weeks ago quietly optimistic that they would finally collect a first league victory of the season, such is their astonishingly poor record at Chelsea that even the most positive of fans would have wavered over predicting they would make it two wins on the bounce.

But they defied expectation and history in style with a stunning 2-0 victory – only their second at Stamford Bridge since 1990 – that indicated that coach and team are finally in sync and ready to climb the table after such a wretched start.

A pair of wins is only one fewer than they managed across their previous 26 top-flight matches combined and prior to the Coventry fixture they had won a total of just three league games in 2026. But Roberto de Zerbi's side now have the chance to secure a hat-trick of victories for the first time since February 2025, under Ange Postecoglou.

Having recorded what was only a sixth win in 37 home league games in their last outing in front of their own fans, De Zerbi will want to press on and establish the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a tough place to visit.

Scoring a bit earlier in games wouldn't do any harm either, as six of their eight league goals this season have come in the final 15 minutes of matches and the average minute of their goals scored in is the 74th, the latest of any top-flight side. As a sidenote, those eight goals have all been scored by eight different players, including one from Chelsea keeper Mike Penders.

And another quirky stat to finish, following those wins over Coventry and Chelsea, Tottenham can become the first side to win three in a row against sides all beginning with the same letter since Burnley beat West Ham, West Brom and Watford in March/April 2018.

Palace proving too easy to breach

Tottenham away used to be a trip of trepidation across London for Crystal Palace fans but the tide has certainly turned in recent years.

After nine straight top-flight losses at Spurs they have won on their last two visits, with their 3-1 victory in March particularly impressive.

However, this is a Palace team in a very different spot. Defeat to Newcastle on Sunday was their fifth in just eight league matches under new boss Pierre Sage.

They sit 17th having conceded a top-flight high of 19 goals in eight matches, the second most they have let in at this stage of a top-flight season after 22 in 1980-81.

Of the 24 previous Premier League teams to concede 19 after eight games, 14 went on to be relegated. And another concerning stat is that they have let in at least two goals in 12 of their last 14 top-flight games.

These defensive frailties, though, can't all be put at Sage's feet as they predate the Frenchman's summer arrival. Their tally of conceding 50 goals in 2026 is not only a Premier League high, but it's also six more than they conceded in the whole of 2025 and they still have 10 league matches to play this year.

This loss of form in the top flight has been gradually creeping in. When they beat Fulham on 7 December last year they rose to the heady heights of fourth, but since that date their 17 defeats and 58 goals conceded are both the most by any Premier League club.

Reaching the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in midweek will have been good for morale, but unless Sage sorts out their league form his Eagles tenure may well be cut short.

Crystal Palace are through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after beating Fulham on Wednesday and it felt like Eagles boss Pierre Sage needed that result because of his side's poor league form.

Tottenham are on the up at the moment though and they performed really well in their win at Chelsea even if they did need a bit of luck along the way with Mike Penders punching their first goal into his own net.

However they manage it, the important thing for Spurs is they have found a way of getting results now and I can see them getting another one here.

I do worry for Sage because it seems a lot of Palace fans are uncertain about him and feel his team are too easy to get at.

Because of that, I am going for Spurs to score a couple more goals here.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Sophie Trifonoff
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hostpur Stadium (17:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• De Zerbi has confirmed that James Maddison will be available for this weekend's match despite coming off injured against Chelsea. Tosin, Lucas Bergvall and Mykhailo Mudryk remain out.

• When asked if Maddison can get away with not training as much as other players in the squad, de Zerbi said "I believe in working hard."

• He added: "I come from a city, Brescia [where] we are used to working hard. For James Maddison or any player coming back from injury, [you] have to work more than the other players but he's already working hard for four, five weeks and consistently. So it's not a problem if you miss two days and then we have to analyse if we take risks or not. Because if we take risks like we did with Pedro Porro and [Dejan] Kulusevski... we are lucky to have a big squad [but] it's [about] not taking risks for new injuries."

• The Italian manager said the club "want to be happy at the end of the season" after last weekend's 2-0 win over Chelsea. On winning two games in a row, de Zerbi said: "We have to push, we have to stay focused, improve the spirit, the appetite to win games in a row. To do that we have to show if we are good enough. We've shown that on the pitch but now we have to show that in our mentality. Because the [level] of this club is to win games in a row. One win or two wins are not enough."

• Four out of the last five Spurs' goals have come from outside the area and De Zerbi said that the players "have this quality in themselves". He added: "I think we are improving in a lot of things. We are ready to score many goals in more situations."

• On if the club can build momentum now, he said: "I believe in my players. We have many leaders in our group, [Andy] Robertson, [Micky] Van de Ven, Pedro Porro, [Jan Paul] Van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Rodrigo Bentancur, Tosin, Ben Davies, James Maddison. They push to keep the level of mentality, spirit and appetite high. Especially because now football is going in this direction."

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

Listen to live commentary of the match on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham forward Dejan Kulusevski has credited a Swedish physio who was "able to change my nervous system" for playing a key role in his return to action after 526 days out with knee problems.

The 26-year-old feared his career would be over after several setbacks from a patella injury sidelined him for the entirety of last season.

"I went to a physio in Sweden," Kulusevski explained to club media. "He was able to change my nervous system and then it felt different. When I did the exercises, I said, 'I don't have pain, like this hurt yesterday. Why is this not hurting today?'.

"Then I did the next exercise and said, 'this is not hurting' and I went into the room to my wife. And I told her, 'it's over, we're going to do this'. From the minute I went into the room, it was better.

"There was still pain but it was different. Now I had control of my leg and then that is when the grind started that summer. I started to play football and it got better every day. I was limping and everything, but it was different now.

"I came here to Tottenham to do the pre-season and they were also impressed with the progress I made. I got a lot of help from them, I got much stronger in a short time and I went from, 'this guy will not play football any more', to playing really good football in just a couple of weeks."

Kulusevski ended a 17-month absence with a substitute appearance against Coventry and featured the following week against Chelsea - Spurs' first two wins of the season. He went on to emphasise how much he is now looking forward to playing a role under Roberto de Zerbi.

"Yeah, it's an incredible story," he added.

"I am starting to understand how to live with it, how to treat it, how to do my stretching one hour every evening before sleep and I start to understand how I can help this.

"I know I can compete and I know that, because I put in the work. I am not afraid because I put in the work for one year so I know I will be ready to play and the knee is strong.

"Roberto, I know from before because he is a very special manager so when he came here, it feels also like it is special. I am so happy to have him and the staff because they are different and I like to work with different people."

Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelseaare keeping a close eye on Nicolo Tresoldi, but Club Brugge have no intention of selling the 22-year-old German striker in January. (Football Insider), external

Meanwhile, Barcelonapresident Joan Laporta is keen on bringing Spurs full-back Pedro Porro to the club. (3Cat, in Catalan), external

Finally, Tottenhamwill not receive additional funds from Bayern Munichas Harry Kane's transfer to the Bundesliga giants in 2023 did not include a Ballon d'Or clause. (Goal), external

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

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French football journalist Julien Laurens spoke to the Football Daily podcast about Tottenham's number nine issue: "There is a lot to like about Tonali, Van Hecke and Mateus Fernandes. Of all of their recruitment, I thought the Marmoush signing was a little bit strange. He is a great forward, who is versatile, but he's a striker who needs another striker with him. He had his best season at Frankfurt when it was two up front with Ektike and that was never going to be the case at Spurs.

"Instead of a number nine that will score you 20 to 25 goals a season and who is a very good finisher, they got a guy who is really good but needs another forward with him. I don't think we will see Solanke and Marmoush play centrally together.

"Maybe they can sign somebody else in January because we have already seen a lot of frustration from De Zerbi about the lack of efficiency Spurs have shown. He is a fascinating character who can lose his mind very quickly - I wonder if some of those Spurs forwards who have underperformed in front of goal have had the 'hairdryer treatment'."

When asked who the club could look to sign in January, Laurens said: "Nicolo Tresoldi from Club Brugge. He is a highly promising player who has been very good in Belgium - which is a good platform to go to one of the 'big five' leagues. For somebody like him, you don't have to go and spend £140m. You can find some interesting number nines who are good finishers for not too much money."

Listen to the full Tottenham analysis on BBC Sounds, or watch on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Football YouTube channel, external

Tottenham fan Kish Patel says Mateus Fernandes' performance against Chelsea may have revealed the missing piece in Roberto de Zerbi's Spurs project.

He believes the midfielder's ability to receive the ball under pressure, progress play and resist the press could transform the way Spurs attack.

Hear Kish Patel's full thoughts by pressing the play icon above, or listen here on BBC Sounds.

Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle have all scouted Club Brugge's Germany youth international Nicolo Tresoldi. (Teamtalk), external

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

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