Tottenham Faces Nottingham Forest in Premier League Clash

Tottenham head back into Premier League battle today still empty-handed, chasing their first points of the season as they make the trip to Nottingham Forest and a restless City Ground.

It is not the ideal moment for Roberto De Zerbi to be juggling a growing fitness list. The head coach has already been blunt about it: the club’s pre-season tour has left his squad short of the physical edge needed for the opening weeks, and the early evidence backs him up. Legs look heavy. Options look thin.

Even the new arrivals have not escaped. Big-money signing Savio, brought in from Manchester City for £85m to inject pace and incision in the final third, has already had to navigate a muscle problem. He made an explosive introduction off the bench against Charlton last week, scoring and assisting on debut, only to disappear from the matchday squad against Newcastle after picking up an issue in training.

The good news for De Zerbi is that Savio is back. The Brazilian has been passed fit and is available again, a badly needed burst of attacking energy for a side still searching for lift-off.

The main cloud hanging over Spurs, though, is James Maddison. The playmaker fractured his shoulder on the opening weekend against Brentford, a brutal early blow to Tottenham’s creative heartbeat. He sat out the defeat to Newcastle and remains a major doubt for the trip to Forest, leaving De Zerbi to plan for another afternoon without his primary source of craft between the lines.

Transfer deadline day at least delivered fresh faces. Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo were both registered in time for the weekend, adding speed and defensive cover respectively. Only one of them, though, is involved at the City Ground.

Adarabioyo does not make the matchday squad, so the wait for his debut goes on. Mudryk, meanwhile, is back on a Premier League teamsheet for the first time since serving a doping ban that has kept him out of competitive action since November 2024.

De Zerbi has been cautious with his assessment of the Ukrainian’s readiness. Match sharpness is clearly not there yet; the manager believes Mudryk can give him, at most, half an hour. So he starts on the bench, a potential late-game weapon rather than a 90-minute solution.

For a Tottenham side still hunting their first points and still nursing key injuries, that might have to be enough. The question now is whether those 30 minutes, and the returning spark of Savio, can finally jolt their season into life.