Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Poole
BBC Sport journalist

From ecstasy to agony in under 20 minutes.

The emotional rollercoaster experienced by Tottenham Hotspur fans in the closing stages of Saturday's draw with Brighton likely hinted at what is yet to come.

Xavi Simons had led his team-mates in joyous celebration, the Spurs supporters joining in a collective release of pent-up emotion, after the 22-year-old's wonderful strike put Roberto de Zerbi's side on course for a first Premier League win since 28 December.

But those scenes proved premature when, in the fifth minute of eight added for stoppage time, Brighton's Georginio Rutter delivered a devastating sucker-punch.

It left Spurs still one point adrift of safety with just five games remaining - a situation which could worsen with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and West Ham yet to play - increasing their fears of a first top-flight relegation since 1977.

Spurs' winless run in the league now stands at 15 matches, just one short of the club's worst-ever winless league run set 91 years ago.

It is bottom club Wolves - who will be relegated if West Ham earn at least a point against Crystal Palace on Monday - against whom Spurs will seek to avoid equalling that streak endured between 1934 and 1935.

Only the Championship's rock-bottom club Sheffield Wednesday have picked up fewer points (four) than Spurs (six) across English football's top four tiers in 2026.

De Zerbi has been clear that his immediate attention is on restoring confidence in a group of players who have now failed to win each of their last five Premier League games in which they have led.

There were signs of encouragement for the former Seagulls boss in that regard, as his players demonstrated the fight they must show over their remaining games in going toe-to-toe with the league's form team.

Spurs travel to Wolves next weekend, then face difficult trips to European hopefuls Aston Villa and Chelsea in search of crucial points.

The task for De Zerbi now is lifting his players after coming within only a few minutes of achieving a momentous victory, the devastation evident on his players' faces at the full-time whistle.

Read more on Spurs' survival chances

Pundits Ashley Williams and Joe Hart join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

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And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Leeds 3-0 Wolves

• Newcastle 1-2 Bournemouth

• Tottenham 2-2 Brighton

Harry Poole
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

With each winless game that passes, a once unthinkable fate for Tottenham becomes increasingly likely.

The facts are that Spurs now stand five games away from a first season in the second tier for almost 50 years, and one match from equalling the club's worst-ever winless league run, set in 1935.

Yet, while it may not feel it in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's cruel setback, there were signs of encouragement for Roberto De Zerbi, who has insisted first and foremost on restoring confidence in his players to aid their survival bid.

A team sheet featuring midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, making his first start since undergoing hamstring surgery in January, and James Maddison, returning to the squad after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season, already provided a pre-match lift.

The Spurs fans waved flags bearing the club's crest before kick-off and roared as the stadium announcer read out the player's names as they sought to create an atmosphere in which their confidence-stricken team could thrive.

The hosts carried the greater early threat and had a penalty claim dismissed when Destiny Udogie went down after getting past Yankuba Minteh.

They went close to a quick-fire second after Pedro Porro's opener when the excellent Xavi Simons' struck the post, and Bart Verbruggen saved Pedro Porro's follow-up.

There were uncomfortable moments as Brighton began to threaten, but Spurs showed great resolve to force the breakthrough, while Simons provided a touch of class as the stadium became increasingly nervous in the second half.

Ultimately, De Zerbi's men could not withstand Brighton's late pressure - but the Italian will hope this performance can inspire his side with time quickly running out.

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi, speaking to Match of the Day: "It's like a defeat because we conceded a goal in extra time, but we played a great game. Brighton are very good. A lot of top players, a lot of qualities. Today I am disappointed because we deserved to win. It's tough to accept today. We have to be stronger than this moment we are going through. We have to move on and prepare for the next game at Wolves."

On the togetherness between players and fans today: "We have to say thanks to our fans. They were fantastic, they helped the players a lot, before the game, during the game and at the end of the game. The players have to feel lucky because it's not normal a stadium like this if you are fighting relegation."

On Kevin Danso's error leading to Brighton's second goal: "It was a mistake, but Danso, I am proud of him. He played an amazing game. This season there are a lot of difficult situations, but we have to think positive again because we have the qualities. There is time to reach our target and we start on Monday to prepare Wolves."

On whether he can help mentality after no league wins in 2026: "I believe in my players and they have to believe in myself. We can't think in the past. The other coach is gone. Now it is a different moment.

"We have to play another five games, we have enough time. We have enough qualities. I don't like people who cry or think too much to be negative. I don't like these people. They know how I think in football, how I think in my life and we have to be together."

Tottenham's Pedro Porro, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I think after the game we don't have time for the disappointment. For me and my teammates, the best thing is keep pushing, keep going.

"I think the team today was very good. I think first half was very good for us. The team pressed very well. I think the most important thing now is staying positive."

On Kevin Danso's error: "I think Kevin had a great game today. This is the point now, we don't have time for mistakes. This is football, it happens. For me today, Kevin was instrumental on the pitch."

Did you know?

• Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win each of their last 15 Premier League matches (D6 L9), extending their longest ever winless run in the competition.

• Roberto De Zerbi has won just one of his last 12 matches in the Premier League (D3 L8), while he has failed to win either of his opening two games in both of his spells in charge of Premier League sides (D1 L1, also with Brighton in October 2022).

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

Have your say on Spurs' performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has made four changes after overseeing a 1-0 loss to Sunderland in his first game in charge.

For his first home match as Spurs boss, De Zerbi hands midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur his first start since undergoing surgery on his hamstring in January.

Kevin Danso replaces the injured Cristian Romero in defence, while Yves Bissouma and Xavi Simons also come in for Archie Gray and Richarlison.

Another huge boost for Spurs is the return of James Maddison to the squad for the first time this season, after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season.

Tottenham XI: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Gallagher, Bentancur, Kolo Muani, Solanke, Simons.

Subs: Austin, Dragusin, Palhinha, Richarlison, Maddison, Tel, Gray, Bergvall, Spence.

There are no changes for in-form Brighton.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have won five of their past six in the league as they make a late surge for European football, and the German names the same 11 that started in the 2-0 win over Burnley, with Danny Welbeck leading the line.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Ayari, Gross, Gomez, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Welbeck.

Subs: Steele, Igor, Rutter, Baleba, Kostoulas, Mitoma, De Cuyper, O'Riley, Veltman.

After Spurs lost to Sunderland in his first match in charge, Roberto de Zerbi said his players need a father figure, not a coach. He is trying to build their confidence but maybe that means he is not coaching them the way he wants to.

It's a bit of a head-scratcher, but then Tottenham's entire season has not made much sense. When you look at their team and their bench, they have got some incredible players.

Somehow, though, Spurs are still waiting for their first Premier League win of the year after playing 14 league games already in 2026. Looking at the table, they will need three wins, or at least two, from their final six games if they are going to climb out of the relegation zone and stay up.

They really should not be in this position but I am not sure they have got the stomach to get out of it now they are.

I just don't think they will get one of those wins against Brighton, who have come into a bit of form.

The Seagulls are on a run of three successive victories and have five wins in their past six games. I can see things going wrong for De Zerbi against his old club, so I am backing Brighton to nick the points here.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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

• Brentford v Fulham (12:30)

• Leeds v Wolves (15:00) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Bournemouth (15:00)

• Tottenham v Brighton (17:30) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Man Utd (20:00)

Kick-off 15:00 BST unless stated

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Beleaguered Tottenham are without a league win in 2026, so can Roberto de Zerbi inspire them to victory in his first home match in charge against his former side Brighton on Saturday (17:30 BST)? BBC Sport looks at the key themes around the fixture.

Spurs close to unwanted home record

If their situation wasn't already serious enough, a morale-sapping weekend of results brought into even sharper focus just how much trouble Tottenham are in.

West Ham's crushing victory over Wolves, Nottingham Forest's battling point against Aston Villa and Leeds United's historic triumph at Old Trafford were sandwiched by a toothless defeat for Spurs at Sunderland in which they also lost captain Cristian Romero for the season.

There were only limited signs of a "new manager bounce" for Roberto de Zerbi in his first match in charge. He's since had another week on the training ground to try to instil some belief in his fragile squad. "I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he said of his plans to lift spirits.

The only one of Spurs' last 13 managers to lose their opening home game was his much-maligned predecessor Igor Tudor. Their home form remains an ongoing issue and if they are beaten again on Saturday, the Lilywhites will equal their club record of five successive home league losses set in February 1994.

So dismal have their performances been in front of their own fans that their tally of 10 home points is just one more than Brighton have picked up in their last three league matches alone.

Overall, Tottenham's winless streak in the league of 14 matches - dating back to 28 December - is just two shy of the longest such run in their history of 16 set between December 1934 and April 1935.

They also remain one of only two top-flight sides yet to win a match after failing behind along with Wolves.

Seagulls having flying end to season

In yet further bad news for Spurs and De Zerbi, his former side Brighton proudly sit on top of the Premier League form table having won five of their last six matches.

It is as many victories at they had managed in their previous 20 top-flight league games combined and has quelled rumours that Fabian Hurzeler's job was under threat.

Another three points would give them a fourth away win on the spin for the very first time in the top flight. The last time they conceded a goal on the road was on 11 February.

Their resurgence after such a tricky winter has firmly propelled them back into the mix for European football and they are only six points adrift of a Champions League place.

They have also enjoyed an excellent recent record against Tottenham, having lost just one of their last five against the north Londoners, scoring 14 goals in those matches, including four at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the final game of last season.

The latest news and views on Spurs in two minutes, every weekday afternoon.

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Craig Nelson
BBC Sport Journalist

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• De Zerbi confirmed that Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero is out for season and said: "I am really sorry for him, for his injury. Romero, first of all, loves Tottenham, and the people have to know his suffering."

• Goakeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out: "I am looking forward to working with him. He is another important player for us with big experience and a big personality. We are waiting for him."

• Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is available to play, although De Zerbi does not know if he will start, while Yves Bissouma is "100%" ready to play.

• The Spurs boss said he does not want to "push" England forward James Maddison, who has not played since suffering a torn ACL in pre-season

• On Maddison's return: "It's better to lose [Maddison] for one game more than to take a risk for another injury."

• On taking the team out for a meal: "I don't know if we win the game for [this] dinner, but we ate very well. The food was amazing and if we win I am ready to pay every week one dinner."

• On facing former club Brighton: "I love Brighton, I love my former players and all people working in this club. Fabian [Hurzeler] is working very well and is credit for what they are doing."

• De Zerbi said he has not decided who will captain the side in Romero's absence, but added: "I would like all players to feel they could be a captain. We can't cry, we have to push and be stronger to come out of this situation."

Listen to full commentary of Saturday's match via BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

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Tottenham are prepared to sell Conor Gallagher, 26, with several Premier League clubs interested in the England midfielder, who only joined Spurs in January. (Football Insider), external

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

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Image source, Getty Images

Roberto de Zerbi's first home Premier League game in charge of Tottenham will be against his former club Brighton on Saturday.

The Italian's tenure started with defeat at Sunderland last Sunday and it was a result that dropped Spurs into the relegation zone after West Ham beat Wolves.

Only one of the previous 13 managers to take charge of Tottenham have lost their first home game and that was De Zerbi's predecessor Igor Tudor in February against Arsenal.

But Spurs' home record this campaign has been a cause for concern.

They have lost 10 of their 16 league games to date at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and four consecutively in recent weeks.

They have only ever lost five in a row once in their league history and that was in February 1994.

Brighton head to the capital having won two of their last four away league games against Spurs, including a 4-1 victory last season.

The Seagulls want points on the board to continue their quest for European football, but De Zerbi will hope to kick-start the new manager bounce and secure Spurs' first league win of 2026.

Bardi
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

It takes something special for a club to go through four managers and for nothing to change.

Four different sets of principles, four different approaches, four different game plans, yet nothing sticks. Not one idea nor concept has made a lasting impact on who we are as a football club. Tottenham Hotspur have been lacking an identity for so long that I am not sure I could tell a stranger, someone who has never heard of the club, what exactly we are.

Games pass us by, bad luck seems to wait at every 50-50 and there is such a lack of goal threat that opposition goalkeepers may as well start their summer holidays early. We are a team lacking in every department, on the pitch and off it.

With each appointment, we are promised change. Something to make us proud, something to cling to, but every new era brings the same disappointment and the same draining of our most valuable resource: time.

The new manager bounce is a fable as old as time, but at Spurs there has been no sign of it. It remains a bedtime story as we sleepwalk towards relegation. Every weekend brings another must-win game, and every weekend the line in the sand is erased and redrawn further down the beach.

On a personal level, I have gone beyond panic, fear and anger. I have arrived at acceptance. Since January, all we have needed is three wins, yet even that has proved beyond everyone involved. I do not see Spurs, with the finish line in sight, suddenly finding the energy to push on. Instead, we will continue to crawl towards it, as Nottingham Forest, Leeds and, most painfully, West Ham surge past us to safety.

In the long term, Roberto de Zerbi may prove an inspired appointment, but he has been dropped into a hole so deep and so dark that even a five-year contract may not give him enough time to find a way out.

Tottenham fans have been let down so often this season that I have no fingers left to point with. You make your own fate, and this club has created a monster.

Find more from Bardi at The Extra Inch - a Spurs podcast, external

Defender Cristian Romero may have played his last game for Tottenham Hotspur, with the club planning a squad overhaul even if they stay up. (Talksport, external)

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

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Image source, Getty Images

Two Premier League heavyweights are set to face each other this weekend at Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Arsenal.

Both teams go into the fixture with different targets. For Mikel Arteta's side, it is about extending their lead at the top of the table. For Pep Guardiola's side, it is about closing the gap and keeping themselves in the title race.

It is a fixture being labelled a title decider by some, so we want to know who you want to win this Sunday's match.

Will you be cheering on the Citizens or getting behind the Gunners?

Make your selection

Ali Speechly
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

As Cristian Romero made an early exit at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, I think most fans knew that his tears were for Argentina, not Spurs.

Adding to Tottenham's ridiculous injury list, Romero appeared distraught despite his team-mates' efforts to console him. This raw emotion was from a man who had just realised his World Cup dream might be over before the tournament has even kicked off, not one who is desperate to keep the club he captains in the Premier League.

Therein lies the issue at Spurs. There doesn't seem to be anyone taking responsibility for this relegation battle, nor is there any sense of panic about our plight. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting it would be helpful for our players to run around in alarm. Clearly, they need calm heads. But where is the sense of urgency?

Instead, there is an ominous air of resignation in the Spurs camp. The fans are still giving it everything we have, including those who travelled to Sunderland in the fragile, and ultimately futile, hope that we might secure our first league win of 2026.

However, the stony expressions on the faces of our board members watching on told a different story. Their final, desperate gamble of appointing Roberto de Zerbi - a decision that has divided the fanbase for good reason - has started in the worst way possible.

Any dreams of this mythical "new manager bounce" were destroyed by a cruel deflection which led to the only goal of the game and yet another defeat. If De Zerbi was under any illusion about the desperation of this situation, the scale of his task was brought into sharp focus for him in his first match in charge.

Whichever league we end up in next season, there must be a full-scale review of the club over the summer, resulting in a change of leadership from top to bottom, on and off the pitch.

For now, if we have any chance of surviving the drop, these players need more than a big brother or a father figure. They need a miracle-worker.

Find more from Ali Speechly at Women Of The Lane, external and on Instagram, external

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Roberto de Zerbi has gone into Tottenham "and put his coaching principles aside" in order to try and save them from relegation.

De Zerbi's reign started with defeat at Sunderland, meaning Spurs are still winless in 2026 in the Premier League.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club about the tough job De Zerbi has, Sutton said: "He is a pure coach, but he has said the team don't need to be coached and that means they are that low on confidence they are not ready for him to go in and play the De Zerbi brand of football.

"It is just about getting them over the line and I think he is doing the right thing, but it is pathetic really.

"I was looking at their bench on the weekend and it's an expensive bench, let alone the first team. How Tottenham are in this position is just incredible. The players have to take a great deal of responsibility.

"In De Zerbi's early days it is just about trying to lift them and keep them on side.

"He has gone in and put his coaching principles aside and will give them a good pat on the back to try and keep them up."

The Observer's Rory Smith says De Zerbi has taken a "firefighter's approach" and is being "pragmatic".

Smith said: "De Zerbi's said 'I'll put this on hold until the summer. Let's stay up and then we can do the playing out from the back stuff.'"

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Getting 36 points on the board should offer a huge psychological boost for Leeds.

Teams finishing on 36 or more points in each of the past nine Premier League seasons have avoided relegation.

In the 20-team Premier League era, starting from the 1995-96 season, the average number of points earned by the team finishing 18th is 35.53.

In those 30 seasons of 38 games, 36 points has ensured survival 60% of the time.

The rate of survival increases to 80% for 38 points, 90% for 40 points and 100% for 43 or more points.

So does that mean Leeds have virtually guaranteed survival this season?

Not really.

That is because this season is on track to be the toughest to survive for a decade.

According to Opta's supercomputer, Tottenham are now favourites to go down at 48.7%. But Spurs, sitting 18th, are on 30 points and projected to finish on 37 by Opta - meaning 38 points would be needed for survival.

West Ham, currently 17th, hold the record for the team relegated with the most points in the 20-team era - in 2002-03 when they picked up 42 points but still went down.

"The reality is that performance-wise we should already [have] far more than 40 points," Daniel Farke said.

"This team has performed over the whole season with unbelievable consistency.

"But we are on 36 points, a few more points are needed. For now, three points closer but nothing is achieved yet."

Read more here