Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Leeds United

A blockbuster bottom-half battle closes Premier League gameweek 36, as Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United collide at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night.

The Lilywhites could win three straight top-flight matches for the first time this season, while their Yorkshire counterparts will be mathematically safe with an 11th triumph of the term.

Match preview

Survival specialists Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce may have answered the phone had Tottenham come calling, but the hosts decided to gamble with the long-term vision of Roberto De Zerbi, and that gamble is - whisper it quietly - paying off.

Across gameweeks 33, 34 and 35, only two teams picked up more Premier League points than the Europa League holders, who recovered from the heartbreak of their Brighton & Hove Albion draw with gritty back-to-back wins in the West Midlands.

After earning Premier League win number one of 2026 at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham capitalised on Aston Villa's Europa League distraction with a merited 2-1 success at Villa Park, where Conor Gallagher and Richarlison produced the goods in the opening 25 minutes.

Also indebted to Brentford for doing them a favour against West Ham United, Spurs start the weekend with their fate in their own hands, lying 17th in the Premier League table with a one-point buffer over the Irons.

West Ham can leapfrog the Lilywhites with a shock victory over Arsenal on Sunday, when Tottenham fans should put their North London rivalry to one side for a couple of hours, and their team could be four points clear of the drop zone with two games remaining in this gameweek's dream scenario.

The hosts' appalling home record of 11 points from 17 games may not carry much weight on Monday too, as the De Zerbi impact is backed up by the stats; his Tottenham side have won possession in the final third 5.3 times per match on average, the highest figure for any manager who has taken charge of 4+ games in the 2025-26 Premier League.

Leeds' improvements have been noticeable over the past few months rather than the past few matches, and Daniel Farke's men could even have their Premier League safety assured before kicking a ball on Monday night.

Seven points clear of West Ham with three games remaining, the Whites can no longer be relegated if the Irons lose to Arsenal on Sunday; otherwise, they simply need to match or better the Hammers' result to stay up.

Monday's visitors are already in an incredibly advantageous position, though, as no team has ever been relegated from the Premier League with their current total of 43 points, 10 of which have been won across their last four matches.

Shaking off the Chelsea-inflicted FA Cup semi-final heartbreak at Wembley, Leeds strode to a 3-1 victory over doomed Burnley two Fridays ago, as Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin helped extend their side's unbeaten Premier League run to six matches.

Farke's charges have also avoided defeat in each of their last six league games on the road, although they would already be safe had they been able to convert draws into wins away from home, where they have played out a staggering eight stalemates from their last 10 in the top flight.

The Whites were also edged out 2-1 by Spurs at Elland Road in October, which marked Tottenham's fifth consecutive Premier League win over Monday's visitors, a streak that includes an enthralling 4-3 home victory in late 2022.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Leeds United Premier League form:

Leeds United form (all competitions):

Team News

Tottenham were handed a couple of customary injury scares at Villa Park, where Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison were forced off the field, but the pair are expected to be fine for Monday's game.

However, the clash should come too soon for Dominic Solanke (hamstring), while Guglielmo Vicario (hernia), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee), Ben Davies (ankle), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Xavi Simons (knee) and Cristian Romero (knee) are still sidelined.

An unused substitute two weeks running, James Maddison may be in line for his first minutes of the season against Leeds, although they would undoubtedly come off the bench.

As for Leeds, Farke delivered a crushing blow in his pre-game press conference, revealing that in-form attacker Okafor had picked up a calf injury and would not be available for his side's next two games.

The Switzerland international was aiming to build on a stellar return of seven goal involvements from his last seven Premier League games, including six strikes of his own - one every 68 minutes.

Lukas Nmecha and Brenden Aaronson will compete to deputise for Okafor, who is joined in the treatment room by Gabriel Gudmundsson (thigh) and Ilia Gruev (knee), but Pascal Struijk (hip) might be in contention to play.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Darlow; Bijol, Struijk, Rodon; Bogle, Stach, Tanaka, Ampadu, Justin; Nmecha, Calvert-Lewin

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Leeds United

Prior to the start of gameweek 36, Leeds' Okafor boasted the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any Premier League player to play at least 200 minutes since February 1, so his absence on Monday could prove devastating for the Whites.

However, the omissions of Simons, Romero, Kulusevski and co have not majorly hampered a Tottenham side playing with greater intensity and belief, and we can picture the De Zerbi-inspired Lilywhites edging closer to survival with another huge three points.