Hotspur HQ

The most must-win of must-win games beckons for Tottenham Hotspur if they're to preserve their Premier League status, but they're up against the in-form Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

Roberto De Zerbi thus takes on his former employers on his home bow as Spurs boss, having overseen a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on debut last week.

The Lilywhites have slipped into the bottom three, and risk being cut adrift should they lose again on home soil. With fellow relegation rivals enjoying more comfortable outings this weekend, Spurs may have to win merely to keep in touch.

De Zerbi didn't quite get his team selection right at the Stadium of Light, so it'll be interesting to see what he opts for against the Seagulls. Here's how we think he could line up.

Tottenham predicted lineup vs. Brighton (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Antonín Kinsky (GK)—The young Czech goalkeeper was one of the very few bright sparks last Sunday, and De Zerbi has confirmed that Guglielmo Vicario hasn't recovered from his hernia surgery in time to return this weekend.

Pedro Porro (RB)—I fear for Porro up against the one-on-one demons Brighton have out wide. Fabian Hürzeler could opt for the dribbling scholar Kaoru Mitoma or the more direct Yankuba Minteh to terrorise the Spaniard.

Kevin Danso (CB)—Danso has a huge role to play down the stretch after captain Cristian Romero partially tore his MCL last weekend.

Micky van de Ven (CB)—The broken Dutchman has got to pull himself together for these next six games. Danny Welbeck won't test his recovery speed, but he's a canny box operator who could outwit Van de Ven from crossing situations.

Destiny Udogie (LB)—I feel like Udogie has an important role to play for De Zerbi, potentially as an attacking weapon. Spurs need a spark from somewhere; perhaps their left-back will provide it.

Midfielders

Archie Gray (CM)—Gray should retain his place despite a quiet showing last weekend, and he may well benefit from having a new midfield partner.

Yves Bissouma (CM)—It's time to trust Biss again. Sure, you never know what he's going to do at any given moment, but it's worth taking a risk on his boom or bust nature at this stage.

Lucas Bergvall (AM)—This isn't the direction I'd go, but De Zerbi's comments on Xavi suggests the Dutch playmaker will only play a role off the bench. He may well stick with Bergvall as his most advanced midfielder, which doesn't bring the best out of the Swede at this level.

Forwards

Randal Kolo Muani (RW)—Square peg in a round hole. Kolo Muani looks relatively awkward down the right, but he is really fast and we've got to try and exploit that against the Seagulls.

Richarlison (ST)—Dominic Solanke hasn't offered anywhere near enough over the past few weeks, so I'd trust the technically deficient Richarlison to get us out of this mess.

Tottenham are in a fight for their Premier League lives, now in the relegation zone and two points from safety heading into this weekend's action. Spurs face Brighton this weekend, with Roberto De Zerbi going up against his old side, and the new boss could do with a big result.

As cliche as it may be, every game is a cup final at this point, and Spurs are going to need to produce some big performances with time running out. Here we round up all the latest surrounding the relegation picture.

Current table

Predicted final table

Here is the final predicted table, as calculated by OPTA's simulation system, which uses various simulations to produce a most likely points average.

Run-ins compared

Leeds United: Wolves (H), AFC Bournemouth (A), Burnley (H) , Tottenham (A), Brighton (H), West Ham (A).

Nottingham Forest: Burnley (H), Sunderland (A), Chelsea (A), Newcastle United (H), Man Utd (A), AFC Bournemouth (A).

West Ham: Crystal Palace (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), Arsenal (H), Newcastle United (A), Leeds United (H).

Tottenham: Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A), Leeds United (H), Chelsea (A), Everton (H).

Run-ins compared

Leeds are well on their way to safety at this point, and they will feel that another three or four points will likely get them to safety. Given they play Wolves and Burnley, along with a couple of relegation rivals, they should be confident of wrapping up safety.

Forest likely need two wins and a draw or two, but their fixtures are much more tricky, putting plenty of pressure on that Burnley clash. Forest have a fixture list to fear.

West Ham are in a similar spot in terms of points needed, and they too have some tricky games, but they do have some momentum in their sails. They will be looking at Palace, Everton, and Leeds as the most winnable games, especially given the latter are likely to be home and dry by the last game.

Spurs, meanwhile, have the most work to do, and it won't be easy against Brighton this weekend, as De Zerbi will know all too well. Wolves is a must-win game, and you look at Leeds and Everton as the most winnable games, not that either are easy games by any stretch. Chelsea and Villa are the standout tricky games, but Spurs are going to need some big results somewhere along the line.

After losing 1-0 to Sunderland in another toothless attacking performance despite having Roberto De Zerbi in charge, Tottenham Hotspur's relegation from the Premier League is starting to feel like an inevitability to the suffering Spurs fan base. Especially with West Ham United and Leeds United impressing with big wins and Nottingham Forest having recently trumped Spurs 3-0, the plight of the Lilywhites has long past moved a point of desperation along a 14 game winless streak.

So as Spurs supporters contemplate the ramifications of relegation, the wage bill and future financial health of Tottenham comes to mind. Tottenham have quite a few players who are directly responsible for this relegation battle and futility, and these players are both poor and overpaid.

Even though Daniel Levy was smart enough to plan for the contingency of relegation with steep 50 percent wage cuts across the board, as Football.London's Kasra Moradi charts, there are still going to be some hefty wages paid to several Spurs players in the 2026/27 season if they are in the EFL Championship.

Conor Gallagher is a real low point

The worst two offenders will be two recent, overpaid signings who have been atrocious in recent weeks, striker Dominic Solanke and center midfielder Conor Gallagher. Solanke had a month of a purple patch in his return from injury but has been even worse recently. The record 65 million pound summer 2024 transfer will still make 70,000 pounds per week in the EFL Championship, and while that does not seem like a lot at the outset, it is a ton of money for a guy who barely scores - let alone has his name even uttered on the broadcast with how invisible he is.

But obviously, nothing tops Gallagher in terms of sheer regret. Tottenham Hotspur only just signed the former Chelsea and Crystal Palace rival from Atletico Madrid, but they both overapid the Rojiblancos to beat out Aston Villa to the midfielder - and, worse yet, they broke their wage structure to bring in a player who was already pretty lousy for Atleti anyway.

Gallagher has been even worse for Tottenham. Even with the wage reduction accounted for, the English No. 8 would still be on the books for 80,000 pounds per week. Only Cristian Romero, Xavi Simons, and James Maddison would make more.

Maybe Cristian Romero should be mentioned as a third player then, at nearly 100,000 pounds per week even on reduced wages. But firstly, Romero leaving Spurs is a foregone conclusion at this point. And secondly, unlike Solanke and Gallagher, he's actually a good player and still worth that money in a vaccuum. Solanke and Gallagher are so bad, they don't even deserve 50,000 per week.

Tottenham Hotspur need to upgrade their squad this summer transfer window, but even if they stay up in the Premier League, it is not going to be easy for them to convince the players they need to improve their squad to join a team that will not have European football and is spiraling. Roberto De Zerbi and a few quality young pieces like Archie Gray are sources of optimism, but there is so much more to be pessimistic about.

The recruitment strategy at Spurs has now devolved, somehow, after Daniel Levy's departure. Because at least Levy was bringing in high upside young players like Lucas Bergvall, Gray, Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, and more.

This past winter transfer window, Spurs did sign Souza, but they also signed Conor Gallagher. Now, they are after Andrew Robertson again and appear to already have a deal agreed with the aging Liverpool left back, should they stay up in the Premier League this season.

Marcos Senesi is getting closer

Well, Andy Robertson isn't the only one. The Athletic's transfer insider David Ornstein is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur are now in "advanced talks" to sign a player who had been linked to them for months and is now increasingly being linked, Bournemouth center back Marcos Senesi. Further, Ornstein says that Spurs are the "leading contender" to sign Senesi, provided, of course, as with Robertson, they do not get relegated to the EFL Championship. Ornstein cautions that a deal is far from done, but a lot of signs are pointing to Senesi to the N17.

While Senesi is having a good season for Bournemouth, the Argentinian defender's play has quietly tailed off over the past couple of months. He is a great pure ball winner and an aggressive defender, but he is a very poor man's Cristian Romero at 28.

Senesi makes all the frustrating defensive errors as Romero without the same athletic quality and technical ability on the ball. Tottenham may be interested in Senesi as a stylistic replacement for Romero on a budget play as a free agent, but that is obviously a case of Spurs moving in the wrong direction again, cheapening out for a known veteran commodity instead of replacing a star with a better star to up their chances at European football.

As Chelsea and the others quietly drop out of the Marcos Senesi transfer race and Tottenham become a bigger favorite for the center back, Spurs fans have to be even more concerned about the direction Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham are taking them in.

As Tottenham Hotspur teeter on the edge of relegation from the Premier League, fans are not shy about voicing their frustrations with a number of so-called star players who have deeply disappointed them this season. And, if anything, these big names have deteroriated in their play over the past couple of months and are getting even worse as relegation draws nearer.

Center backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were highlighted as the two most valuable Tottenham players, but they have been among the most responsible for their current plight. Their underperformances and attitudes have been atrocious, and they are finally getting called out for profoundly letting their team down by influential people around the club.

In a recent interview with ESPN Netherlands, former Tottenham Hotspur star center back Toby Alderweireld let fly with his raw take on Romero and Van de Ven, taking the highly paid Spurs center back duo to task for letting the team down this season.

Toby Alderweireld did not mince words

Alderweireld said of the tandem, "I look at Romero, I look at Van de Ven ... They just aren't reaching their level. Again, not for a period, but actually for an entire season. Then I also look at Romero who gets red cards too often, doesn't make the right decisions and therefore lets his team down."

You rarely ever see former players, especially recent graduates of a team, tearing into stars quite like this, and Toby Alderweireld is not the kind of person who runs his mouth for no reason. If the Belgian national team star and Tottenham icon is speaking out about players who are not up to the standard, then he is doing so with good intentions and wanting the team to improve.

There is no way back for either Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. These guys are squarely on the chopping block, and rather than caring about redemption, the one thing on Tottenham's minds at this point is hope that they have not tanked their transfer value too much and that top teams are still interested in paying a fair bit of money for them, hoping that Spurs are too blame and that they can get more out of the defenders.

Alderweireld and Spurs fans know the reality. Romero and Van de Ven have been terrible all season long, and, again, they are only getting worse. The mistakes, the lack of intensity are almost unforgiveable.

Tottenham Hotspur are going to have to sell a bunch of high profile players this summer transfer window, because even if they manage to get out of the relegation zone by the time Matchday 38 ends, Spurs are not going to be in European football next season and have a sea of overpaid and overrated players who need to come off the books.

Guglielmo Vicario is now an interesting case, though. Not but a few weeks ago, Vicario's sale was an obvious conclusion, and he is still most likely going to go with expected Serie A champions Inter Milan extremely interested in bringing the Italian international back to Calcio as their Yann Sommer replacement.

But while Vicario has been horrible this season for Tottenham - and Antonin Kinsky showed some real quality last weekend in his rebound performance from that Atletico Madrid debacle - he will argue that this can be chalked up to him playing through a hernia. Now that he's had a surgery, Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs will be curious to see how the former Empoli star performs.

Guglielmo Vicario would still be a profit sale

As it stands right now, though, Guglielmo Vicario is very much on the chopping block. According to a new report from Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail, the expected transfer fee Tottenham Hotspur will get in return for the Italian shot stopper is about 20 million pounds. Inter Milan are confident in signing Vicario this summer, per Barlow, and believe that is what they will be able to sign him for.

Tottenham actually paid a couple of million pounds less than that for Vicario, and given how his stock has fallen since his Empoli days when clubs as big as Bayern Munich were scouting him, they should be happy to sell him for a bit of a profit.

But the thing is, money is going to be tight for Tottenham without European football. Obviously if they go down to the EFL Championship, money will be even tighter, but that would be a moot point since James Trafford surely wouldn't want to join a Spurs side in the second division. The thing is, if Spurs want Trafford, selling Vicario for about half of what Trafford would cost is a price differential Spurs may not want to go for with so many other issues, especially expensive attacking ones, in the squad. So if Spurs can get closer to 30 million pounds, that will be the goal.

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi got it handed to him over the weekend in a 1-0 loss to Sunderland, and while a few media types will excuse him by saying that Spurs were even worse in the game before or that it is difficult for him to win immediately with this team, those true statements don't absolve De Zerbi of the blame. Playing all three of his subpar strikers was a terrible decision, as was benching Xavi Simons. His adjustments stunk, his ideas were not there, and Spurs were badly outplayed.

But yes, De Zerbi does need some time to get things to gel, and Tottenham have no way to go but up - and there were already signs even in another shutout loss to Sunderland that Spurs can make those strides under the Italian manager.

Heading into this weekend's game against his former Premier League employers Brighton, De Zerbi may be getting another option he can insert into his starting lineup. After tearing his hamstring a couple of months ago, center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is now joining practice with the rest of his Tottenham teammates.

Rodrigo Bentancur is another choice

It may be too soon for Bentancur to start against Brighton this weekend, but with a few days still left until Saturday's fixture, he should be an option in the squad. And then a weekend later in the most vital fixture of the season thus far against bottom feeders Wolves, Bentancur would almost certainly be ready to start.

Although the reality is that Rodrigo Bentancur is part of the reason why Tottenham are in the predicament they are in because he is yet another overrated, mediocre veteran player, he is better than many of the options Spurs have. It's almost a wash between him and Pape Matar Sarr, while his experience may actually make him a better option in Roberto De Zerbi's eyes than an out of form Lucas Bergvall in a relegation fight. And he's definitely superior to the player Spurs signed after his injury, Conor Gallagher.

It has been a nightmare of a season for Tottenham Hotspur, and what makes things all the more frustrating for the Lilywhites is the sheer amount of big name players who have underperformed this season. Spurs have quite a few players whom the fan base now realizes were overrated by either them or the international media, such as center backs Cristian Romero and, especially, Micky van de Ven.

But when it comes to disappointing and not giving the effort required, few can hold a candle to Randal Kolo Muani. The French international showed off his quality with a hat trick in defeat to parent club PSG, and there was a brief period of time earlier in the season in which he looked like he would be Spurs best striker.

Yet the PSG loanee then decided somewhere around the winter to basically stop trying. He was openly pining for a conclusion to his loan spell, with Juventus highly interested in having him back, and from there is play deteriorated. During this losing streak, Kolo Muani has been horrendous whenever he is on the pitch, leaving Spurs fans wondering why on earth the coaches still even bother playing him.

Randal Kolo Muani is probably going to the World Cup again

Through no effort of his own, though, Randal Kolo Muani is about to be rewarded in a huge way. Because Liverpool star striker Hugo Ekitike, who has been their one bright spot in attack during this disappointing season, went down with a serious injury on Tuesday night in the Champions League defeat to his former club PSG. Ekitike will be out for months, including this summer's World Cup in North America.

And Le Parisien's Harold Marchetti reports that the favorite to go to the World Cup for France in his place at the striker position is the Tottenham Hotspur forward. That does not guarantee Kolo Muani will be the choice, but nobody will be surprised to see this report come to fruition, especially since RKM was at the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar for Les Bleus.

In truth, Kolo Muani has never been good for France, and on the national team with the most overall taletn in world football, this mediocre No. 9 truly sticks out like a sore thumb. He is a mediocre finisher, a fairly average athlete, below average technically for the French national team, and lacking in both effort and footballing IQ. Tottenham fans will loathe to see him rewarded for his futility this season, but, hey, when you are one of Didier Deschamps's favorites, you can get away with anything.

Unfortunately, there is a lot to dislike about this Tottenham Hotspur squad. Many of the players are not good enough, not at all interested in the plight of the club, or are spending their time pointing fingers and blaming others instead of actually improving their own games.

But there are a few Spurs players who still have the respect of the fans despite the team almost sealed in their fate to go down to the EFL Championship. Here are three of them.

CM Archie Gray

Going forward, Archie Gray is going to be the most valuable asset to Tottenham Hotspur, and as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich circle like the birds of prey that they are around Spurs for a potential peck at signing Gray this summer, the Lilywhites know they cannot afford to lose their deep lying playmaker.

Even when Spurs have been objectionably terrible these last several games, Gray has grown more and more in importance and quality. He is the one guy who can make the right moves in the build up phases with the courage to receive and progress in tight spaces.

CB Kevin Danso

Big Kevin Danso is far from the biggest name on the Tottenham Hotspur team sheet, but you can make a strong case that he should be a starter for Spurs and has been better than bigger names Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero this season. With Romero done for the rest of the year, Danso will be right in the mix as a weekly starter.

People seem to forget that before coming to North London, Danso was one of the best players in Ligue 1. He is a great passer, dominant in the air, and a nice character to have in the locker room. Only the most bitter of Spurs fans has negative words for the Austrian international.

LW Mathys Tel

Finally, Mathys Tel has been the attacking version of Archie Gray, and it is a shame that his surrounding forwards are as woeful as they are. Because if Tel had a better striker next to him, he would be registering more goals and assists.

Tel still has consistency to learn and a lot of room to grow, but the young Frenchman is the best attacking player on Tottenham right now with Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski all down for the count. His effort and love for the club are apparent.

A partial tear of his MCL means Cristian Romero won't be around for the relegation scrap. His World Cup had been thrust into doubt, too, hence the emotion on Sunday, but there's an expectation that Tottenham's captain will be fit for the start of Argentina's defence this summer.

There's a very strong possibility that Romero has played his last game for the club, irrespective of whether we go down or not.

His legacy in north London was greatly elevated after last season's run to Europa League glory, and he was Son Heung-min's natural successor as captain. However, the 2025/26 season has been a mess, and Romero has greatly contributed. While obviously talented, the defender hasn't emerged as the leader this young Spurs squad need/needed. Suspensions have rendered him far too unavailable, and concentration lapses have compromised defensive stability.

Nevertheless, he's someone we desperately needed to get us out of this current peril. New manager Roberto De Zerbi was set to lean on him down the stretch, but a cynical Brian Brobbey push at the Stadium of Light means an alternate hero must emerge over these next six cup finals.

Playmakers must come to the fore if Tottenham are to avoid relegation

The perfectly capable Kevin Danso will fill in for Romero. A great character and useful defender, Danso cannot provide what the Argentine does in possession but will at least stay on the field for 90 minutes.

The Austrian's importance alongside Micky van de Ven is obvious, and Spurs need to stumble upon a newfound robustness defensively if they are to secure the necessary points. We didn't learn all that much on De Zerbi's debut, but there's hope that the Italian's possession principles will limit the amount of defending Spurs actually have to do.

If Spurs are to survive, though, De Zerbi must embrace the flawed playmaker at his disposal. Tottenham's midfield is woefully built, with recruitment in this part of the pitch predicated on running rather than passing. We've felt the effects all season.

Rodrigo Bentancur's return should serve as a boost despite his indifference for the previous 18 months, and it may be worth De Zerbi trusting the chaotic but courageous Yves Bissouma in the build-up phase. These two, as well as Archie Gray, will be imperative in Tottenham getting the ball upfield, and serving who simply has to be De Zerbi's most advanced midfielder for the next six games.

Xavi Simons has flattered to deceive for the most part in year one, but whenever Tottenham have had success this season, the imperfect but gifted playmaker has often been at the forefront. It's no coincidence that Xavi has started 11 of the 12 games we've won across all competitions since he joined the club.

The Dutchman was outstanding in back-to-back December wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague, before grabbing home games against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid by the scruff of the neck in a particularly bleak 2026. His showing in the round of 16 second leg was perhaps his best in Lilywhite, yet Igor Tudor benched him for the relegation six-pointer with Nottingham Forest days later.

Xavi, admittedly, has struggled at times since his standout second half performance against the Cityzens, but his recent underutilisation contributed to Tudor's undoing and ensured De Zerbi's reign didn't get off to a productive start.

I know plenty of us like to get caught up in the idea that these players "don't want it enough" or aren't offering the requisite passion to preserve our Premier League status, but Xavi can't be accused of downing tools. He's flawed and may never develop into a Tottenham superstar, but Tottenham have sorely lacked any creative spark in recent defeats.

De Zerbi simply has nothing to lose by trusting the 22-year-old, who, unless James Maddison makes a surprise return before the end of the season, is the most important figure in our scrap against relegation.