Tottenham have one more opportunity to get their first Premier League win of the 2026/27 season before September's international break arrives.
With Roberto De Zerbi and all connected with Tottenham desperate to get their campaign firmly up and running after such a poor start, a win against Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime would give everyone a huge lift ahead of the break in play.
Draw or a defeat, however, and it will be a long three weeks before the team return to Premier League action with an away trip to Manchester United.
Tottenham are going to have to sort their issues out in front of goal if they are to beat Villa after so far failing to score in their opening four league fixtures.
They did get off the mark for the season in Tuesday's Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool, though, after Conor Gallagher gave them hope late on.
Amid Spurs' struggles to score, they did have enough chances throughout the game to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup but the finishing touch was dearly lacking.
Spurs did look better for having James Maddison on the pitch in the final 15 minutes of the contest, with the attacking midfielder catching the eye in a bright cameo with his quality on the ball and ability to pick out a pass.
Injury has left the player on the sidelines for the best part of a year and his absence has been felt, especially with Tottenham lacking that cutting edge in the final third.
Maddison is quite clearly desperate to make up for lost time and what he produced in those 15 minutes should certainly give De Zerbi food for thought heading into this weekend's game.
With Tottenham now more than ever needing a win, a start for Maddison, fitness permitting, of course, should be a no-brainer for the Spurs boss.
James Maddison's Liverpool performance in numbers (via FotMob)
What De Zerbi said about Maddison after the game
De Zerbi was asked about Maddison in his post-match press conference after the 29-year-old impressed in his limited game time.
While the boss did hail Maddison as a "special player" in his time speaking to the media, he did also stress the importance of his player's fitness levels after so much time in the treatment room over the past year.
"Maddison is for sure a different player, a special player," he explained. "But he has to be fit, he has to be in the right physical condition. Because the Premier League intensity, even tonight, is incredible. And then we can play with eight attackers. Also the goalkeeper."
Whether Maddison is in the right condition to start Saturday's match against Aston Villa remains to be seen, with De Zerbi likely to give another update on his player in his press conference on Friday.
Tottenham need to start getting Maddison on the pitch for a lot longer, though, as they look to end their attacking woes for good.