Tottenham Hotspur are back in the relegation zone for the first time in more than a decade as Roberto De Zerbi prepares for his first game in charge.
For much of the past decade, Tottenham have been part of the so-called big six, due to their relative success on the field and the financial muscle at their disposal.
However, their loose membership with this lofty club may be set to expire as they are in very real danger of getting relegated to the Championship this season.
Their efforts to break away from the English top-flight and join the European Super League back in 2021 has done them no favours, and despite winning the Europa League last season, Tottenham have been declining.
Ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Sunderland on Sunday, the north London team have dropped into the bottom three for the first time this season.
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Tottenham’s unwanted statistics
Tottenham haven’t won in the Premier League since beating Crystal Palace on 28 December, two managers (Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor) and more than three months ago.
Their 13-game winless run is their second-longest stretch without a victory since Spurs went 16 games without a win from December 1934 to April 1935.
Since beating Palace, they have dropped from 11th in the table to 18th, thanks to West Ham beating Wolves 4-0 on Friday.
According to Opta Joe, that is the first time De Zerbi ended the night in the relegation zone as a Premier League manager, after being in charge at Brighton from October 2022 to June 2024.
And to make matters worse, they have fallen into the bottom three for the first time since 2015, back when Kyle Walker scored an own goal against Manchester United.
That, however, was back in early August, right at the start of a season. This current low for Tottenham is right near the end of the campaign.
De Zerbi has won his first league game at three of the last four clubs he’s been in charge of (Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk and Marseille).
The exception, though, was at Brighton when he drew 3-3 with Liverpool. The Italian was also winless in his first five matches for the Seagulls.
Tottenham will hope that doesn’t happen this time round, as that is likely to lead to their relegation.
Tottenham hope to continue Sunderland trend
Although Tottenham haven’t won in the league in months, they have a good record against Sunderland.
Indeed, they are unbeaten against the Black Cats in their last 15 Premier League games (10 wins and five draws) since a 3-1 loss in April 2010.
And, 20 of Tottenham’s 30 points this season have come away from home, so it may be better that they are playing away from a packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
All eyes will be on what team De Zerbi picks for this match, with Tottenham News predicting an attacking line-up.
Tottenham are without the likes of Guglielmo Vicario and Mohammed Kudus, among others, for this crunch clash.
Whether De Zerbi can hit the ground running at Tottenham remains to be seen.
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