Sky Sports

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

It was billed as the biggest game of their season - and Spurs were beaten 3-0. Their Premier League relegation fears are real.

West Ham's defeat at Aston Villa means Spurs stay just outside of the drop zone for now but they've slipped to 17th, were booed off by their supporters again and now Nottingham Forest have created a gap. It was another miserable day for the club, as their crisis deepens…

The horror stats - look away now Spurs fans...

Tottenham have not won any of their last 13 league matches (D5 L8), equalling their second-longest winless league run in their history (also 13 in November 1912). The record of 16 was set in 1935 and could easily be broken.

Teams in a relegation battle usually rely on home comforts to get them out of jail, but the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a graveyard for this Spurs team.

Spurs news & transfers⚪ | Spurs fixtures & scores

Live PL table | PL fixtures & scores | FREE highlights▶️

Got Sky? Watch PL games LIVE on your phone📱

Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺

Tudor's side possess the worst home record in the Premier League this season, having won just two of their 16 home games. The Forest defeat - their fourth consecutive home league loss - means they are now on an eight-match winless home league run.

This home loss felt even more startling for Spurs, considering it was just the third time that Tottenham have lost by three or more goals at home to a side starting the day in 17th or lower in the Premier League table. So much for the big pre-match welcome the fans gave the team.

Spurs now sit 17th themselves, having failed to win a league game in 2026, while they have won only two of their last 22 league games.

In fact, Tottenham have won just 30 points from 31 Premier League games this season - accounting for three points/win all-time, this is their joint-lowest return after 31 games of a league campaign, along with 1914/15 (30).

Declan Olley

Vicario booed by his own fans again

Surely a goalkeeper has never been booed in so many different matches by his own supporters as Guglielmo Vicario has this season? Against Fulham, against Crystal Palace and now against Forest he has felt the in-game wrath from the stands.

Vicario is due to have a hernia operation next week. Was it right that he played on Sunday? Such was the disaster of Antonin Kinsky's brief cameo away to Atletico Madrid, Igor Tudor clearly felt he had no choice.

But whether Vicario's injury is inhibiting his performances or not, there's no escaping the fact he should have done better for that decisive second Forest goal, when Morgan Gibbs-White's shot went straight through him.

His operation has been timed to cause the minimum disruption to Spurs' season. They don't play again for three weeks. But whether it is Vicario or Kinsky in goal for Sunderland, a huge question mark will hover over the Spurs goalkeeper at the Stadium of Light.

Peter Smith

Van de Ven a surprise sub as Spurs lose their way

When Micky van de Ven didn't come out for the second half, the assumption was the Tottenham defender was injured. He had played the first half at left-back rather than his usual centre-back role but, with Spurs trailing, surely his leadership and experience wouldn't be jettisoned?

The response of Bruno Saltor, Spurs' assistant coach, when asked about Van de Ven's condition was a shock in the press conference: "No, it was a sub with the intention to give more dynamic on the left side and have more legs going forward," he said. "I thought that was a tactical sub."

Spurs subbing off one of their best players was a strange tactic. Could Kevin Danso not make way and allow Van de Ven to come inside if there was a desire to play Destiny Udogie at left-back?

Djed Spence, who had played the first 45 at right-back with Pedro Porro ahead of him in a 4-4-2, was also tactically withdrawn at the break. Lucas Bergvall took on an unfamiliar role on the right of midfield. "Everything was tactical," said Bruno.

The result was that Spurs gave up all of the authority they had in the first half. Yes, they were behind at the break but Igor Jesus' goal had come against the run of play. They had hit the woodwork twice in that first half. "In the second half, we lose the confidence, lose the ball, conceded another stupid goal," said Romero. It proved to be a costly intervention from the dugout.

Peter Smith

'Seven finals' await Spurs

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has labelled their remaining games as "seven finals".

The defender told Sky Sports: "It's painful, it's a bad day, but the most important thing is to go away to national teams, come back here and have seven finals."

After a three-week break, the first of the "seven finals" comes on April 12 as Spurs go to Sunderland, live on Sky Sports.

But a trip to the Stadium of Light feels like a nightmare next game, especially with Sunderland buoyed by their Tyne-Wear derby win at Newcastle on Sunday.

Looking at the games left for Spurs, two look particularly crucial to their survival hopes: Wolves away on April 25 and Leeds at home on May 9.

If Spurs are not safe after that Leeds match, then two daunting fixtures await.

Chelsea away is always a notoriously tough game for Spurs, and the Blues will be smelling blood, making it even more difficult.

Then their final game of the season is at home to European qualification-chasing Everton.

Nottingham Forest ramped up Tottenham's relegation fears with a thumping 3-0 win in north London, as pre-match positivity at Spurs turned to angst and anger by full-time.

Spurs had been galvanised by a draw at Liverpool last weekend and a valiant victory over Atletico Madrid amid their Champions League exit in midweek. Fans lined the High Road outside the ground to welcome the team bus with a renewed air of optimism.

As it happened | Teams | Stats

Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights

Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱

Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺

Igor Tudor's side didn't muster a shot on target in the second half until they were 3-0 down, in what had been billed the biggest game of their season. Perhaps the biggest game of their recent history.

West Ham's defeat at Aston Villa means Spurs are still just above the drop zone - by a point - but they have slipped to 17th, leapfrogged by a Forest side who now have a three-point cushion on the Hammers and a spring in their step off the back of Europa League progress. This was Vitor Pereira's first Premier League win as Forest boss and it was a huge one.

There was cruel irony for Spurs that Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White forced in the second past Guglielmo Vicario - they had chased the No 10 in last summer's transfer window. It was a decisive blow with the game in the balance and the latest example of questionable goalkeeping from Vicario, who was playing ahead of a hernia operation next week.

Taiwo Awoniyi rubbed salt in the wounds with a late finish from close range, which led to a mass exodus and boos for Vicario from Spurs fans again.

Igor Jesus - who had looped the ball against his own back post early on - headed in from a corner against the run of play to give the Forest the lead late in the first half.

Spurs would have been encouraged by their performance up to that point and only a stunning Matz Sels tip onto the bar denied Mathys Tel an instant equaliser. They saw a penalty appeal from Cristiano Romero waved away in the aftermath, following a collision with Neco Williams.

But with Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence off at the break - later confirmed as a tactical change than due to injuries - Spurs made a sluggish start to the second period and the sight of Tel, their best player on the day, limping off soon after Forest's second added to the despair around the ground.

The hope the Spurs fans had before the game completely contrasted with the empty seats and frustration at full-time - while the Forest faithful partied in the away section. These are two teams who look like they're heading in different directions.

Bruno: Any small detail goes against us

Spurs assistant coach Bruno Saltor:

"For 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team. Any small detail goes against us and we aren't able to capitalise on the opposition mistakes.

"We need to keep helping the players. The players care, 100 per cent trying their best but at the moment it's not enough and we need to minimise any mistakes because we know we're going to concede a goal."

Pereira: We are committed and ready to fight

Vitor Pereira to Sky Sports:

"It is not just about this game, it's about the next seven games. We need to have this personality, playing with our arguments, with the ball because we have quality. Good for the momentum, good for the belief because we need to believe in ourselves.

"It's about us, it's not about Tottenham, or West Ham or Leeds. It's not about them, it's about us and what we can do as a team, what we want to be as a team, what we want to be as a player, what we want for our life and the next season.

"In the end, if we have the spirit to sacrifice ourselves to give everything on the pitch to achieve our goals... We are committed and ready to fight."

Story of the match in stats

What's coming up in the Premier League?

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sky Sports' betting expert Lewis Jones:

The draw is one of those bets that just doesn't get any love.

No one's waking up on a Saturday morning desperate to stick the draw into their acca. It's not glamorous, it rarely gets you bragging rights in the pub at 5pm, and it feels an uncomfortable bet to place.

But that discomfort? That's often where the value lives.

Football, especially at Premier League level, is a low-scoring game built on fine margins. Add in the pressure, the fear of losing and what you often get is tight contests.

This season, more than most, is playing into that trend.

We're seeing draws land at a 27 per cent strike rate, the second highest in the last 15 years. Zoom in further and it gets even more compelling: 42 of the last 120 Premier League games have finished level. That's a hefty 35 per cent hit rate - and six of the 10 matches ended all-square last weekend.

Leeds, in particular, are becoming draw specialists. Seven of their last 13 games have ended level as they scrap for survival, often prioritising not losing over rolling the dice for a win.

The draw at 23/10 with Sky Bet might not be pretty. It won't be popular. But it just might be the smartest play on the board.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1

Leeds still have work to do in their race for survival. They're in a good spot but three games without a goal and just two wins in 12 have left them looking over their shoulders still.

A win tonight would be massive for them.

But Brentford arrive with Europe on their minds having won five of their last seven away games. A win would take them to within a point of Liverpool in fifth. Champions League qualification is a realistic target.

Teams dropping shortly. Let's go.