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Mohammed Kudus is finally showing signs of returning to his best following his latest display against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Tottenham's winger won the Man of the Match award after his performance during the 2-0 win, in which he assisted Archie Gray's goal.

Having spent several months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, which also saw him miss the 2026 World Cup, the 26-year-old is starting to regain his confidence.

Roberto De Zerbi is evidently a huge fan of the winger and will be delighted to have him able to complete 90 minutes.

De Zerbi tried to sign the player when he was manager at Brighton, and he will have been one of the players the Italian coach was most excited to work with at Spurs.

Mohammed Kudus' impressive take-on stats

Over the last four seasons, Kudus has completed 279 take-ons in the Premier League, which is more than any player in the division, according to StatMuse data.

Only Jeremy Doku from Manchester City is anywhere close to the Ghanaian attacker, with 271, and the best of the rest is at 163.

Kudus has been particularly impressive during the last two games against Chelsea and Palace following a slow start to the season.

The former West Ham star is effectively Spurs' get-out-of-jail-free card, as he is a player who is so comfortable receiving the ball anywhere on the pitch.

The forward's ability to keep the ball in most situations is somewhat reminiscent of Mousa Dembele, as he is surprisingly strong.

Wingers are so important in De Zerbi's system and having a player who can keep the ball as well as Kudus is vital.

Mohammed Kudus must improve in front of goal

There is, however, one area of his game in which he must improve, and that is his ability in front of goal.

Kudus has just three goals for Tottenham in 35 matches, and it is evident that this is an area he must develop to become a truly elite right winger.

He missed from just a few yards out at the weekend, denying Luca Williams-Barnett an assist on his Premier League debut.

Once the 26-year-old becomes more consistent in front of goal, it's clear he can become one of Europe's best forwards.

Mohammed Kudus will soon face competition at Tottenham

Kudus will soon face competition for his spot at right wing, with Savinho returning from injury and Dejan Kulusevski regaining fitness.

Right now, he remains one of the most important players at the club, but De Zerbi will very soon also have the options of Kulusevski and Savinho for the right wing.

At this moment in time, though, Kudus' performance will make it very hard for De Zerbi to drop him.

Villarreal defender Alex Freeman is attracting interest from Premier League clubs including Spurs, Manchester United, and Manchester City.

The right-back has caught the eye of Premier League clubs during a strong start to the season in Spain. Freeman has earned a regular role in the Villarreal side and has shone in La Liga, ranking second among league's top full-backs for aerial duels won, duels won, and progressive passes completed per 90 minutes.

Freeman's performances follow an impressive World Cup campaign with co-hosts USA, and has put English clubs on alert, according to Football Insider.

Spurs and both Manchester clubs have checked in on the 22-year-old, with the former considering options to replace Djed Spence, who joined Inter Milan in the summer. Pedro Porro has also attracted interest from Spain. The 27-year-old recently expressed a desire to play in LaLiga.

"Right now, it would be very unfair to talk about anything other than my club because I'm under contract, but obviously, I'd love to go back to Spain; it's a big dream of mine," he said at a press conference with the national team.

Manchester United remain eager to sign full-backs on both sides of the pitch, while right-back is an area that Manchester City are considering. Matheus Nunes has deputised at full-back in recent months, and City were linked with Chelsea defender Malo Gusto in the summer. Chelsea's asking price prevented Enzo Maresca from reuniting with the Frenchman at the Etihad.

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We are witnessing a significant mood shift at Tottenham, reflected inside this magnificent arena since the psychological barrier of the vital first league win was crossed against Coventry City.

Head coach Roberto de Zerbi told Match of the Day after his side's victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday: "The passion we showed - we didn't lose the focus, the concentration. We made an incredible reaction when we lost the ball.

"We could have scored more goals, but we created many chances. We have to be more nasty, especially in the last third of the match, especially in the finishing. I'm happy because I knew before this would be a tough game."

De Zerbi pleaded for patience for his big summer acquisitions, with midfield duo Sandro Tonali, a £100m arrival from Newcastle United, and £85m signing Mateus Fernandes, who came from West Ham United, both starting slowly.

While any optimistic verdict on Spurs in recent times always comes with natural caution attached, the expensive pair are now showing signs of why De Zerbi was prepared to pay such prices to make them part of his transformation.

Tonali started to come to life against Coventry and against Palace he was pivotal with his running power, physicality and creation. Fernandes was lively throughout, always looking for the opening, the pass that could make a difference.

And once again, to the usual rapturous reception after his long injury absence, Dejan Kulusevski delivered a lively cameo as substitute, a real threat as he also forced a fine save from Palace keeper Dean Henderson.

There is a sense that something is finally stirring at Spurs, that the £300m spent in the summer might just reap a reward – as you would expect for such a lavish outlay.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario enjoyed an excellent weekend for Juventus.

Having lost trust and favour under Roberto De Zerbi, Vicario always looked destined to leave Tottenham in this season's summer window.

That's what he eventually did, penning a season-long loan deal with Italian giants Juventus.

Juve have the option to sign Vicario on a permanent basis too, but that will depend on his performances in Turin.

Prior to Sunday, the 30-year-old had been enduring a fairly rocky start to life back in Serie A.

As such, a huge clash with Napoli on Sunday presented him with the opportunity to deliver a statement performance in the Juventus goal.

Why were Italian media in Guglielmo Vicario agreement for Juventus vs Napoli?

It hasn't been a great start to the season for Juventus, having won just four of their opening nine Serie A games prior to this past weekend.

As a result, Luciano Spalletti's side were just about keeping their necks above water in the top half of the table.

Similarly, Napoli haven't been great to open 2026-27 either, and Massimiliano Allegri's team have now been dealt their fourth league defeat.

Juventus ran out 2-0 winners over the Naples-based outfit at the Allianz Stadium, with Vicario playing the full 90 minutes between the sticks.

Assessing his performance, Eurosport Italy wrote: "A key player in the early stages against (Lorenzo) Lucca, he took a couple of risks-especially one in the second half. However, he successfully completed the most important part of his night. 6.5."

The False 9 said: "Kept out Lucca's early header with the one save Napoli forced from him, and took the pressure off his defence from crosses in the closing stages. Eight."

Meanwhile, Goal wrote: "A relatively quiet evening for the shot-stopper, who was only called upon to make one save as Juventus restricted Napoli to a single shot on goal.

"He was composed in his distribution, contributing to the 84% team passing accuracy, and commanded his area well during Napoli's four corners. Seven."

So, just how impressive were Vicario's underlying numbers against Napoli, and how is he matching up with Serie A's other shot-stoppers this term?

'Lazy' - Italian media slam Tottenham loanee Radu Dragusin in Fiorentina vs Atalanta How many goals did Vicario prevent vs Napoli?

Juventus' win over Napoli saw Vicario make his 10th appearance in Serie A this season, as well as his fourth clean sheet to boot.

The Spurs loanee has conceded 10 goals in as many games, and per FotMob, has made zero errors leading to goals so far in 2026-27.

However, his 60 per cent save ratio ranks him in the bottom 10 percentile of all Serie A goalkeepers, whilst his -1.52 goals prevented puts him in the lowest 16.7 per cent.

As such, Vicario has still clearly got plenty of room for improvement, but his Napoli performance has done plenty to win his critics over.

He saved Napoli's only shot on target, prevented 0.21 goals, completed 76 per cent of his passes successfully and played six accurate long balls.

Meanwhile, his eight recoveries were more than any player on the pitch, setting him up for another big display when Juve play AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday.

Roberto De Zerbi's Tottenham Hotspur claimed a much-needed three points against the 10 men of Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Even before Jean-Philippe Mateta's red card, Tottenham were beginning to dominate, and Archie Gray broke the deadlock after just 25 minutes on 31 October.

Pierre Sage's side were forced to retreat after going down to 10 men, but Spurs persisted, and Jan Paul van Hecke added a second from close range.

It was a victory that saw the Lilywhites move up to eighth in the Premier League table, a position that fans have probably forgotten all about.

But the game was so much more than just securing three points. There was a confidence in the North London air, and not just amongst the most experienced players.

Mohammed Kudus, Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel all worked in tandem, with Dominic Solanke ahead of them. Luca Williams-Barnett eventually joined them.

Luca Williams-Barnett is the real deal at Tottenham

Supporters have been desperately calling for the 18-year-old to be given a chance by De Zerbi, having also appeared in the Carabao Cup in August.

For the Under-21s last season, he notched seven goals and six assists in 11 games, and already has another three goal contributions this term as well.

He was finally given an opportunity to show what he can do, and he certainly took it with both hands, despite only coming on in the 88th minute.

Footage of one of his mazey runs is already doing the rounds on social media, and had it not been for Kudus' miss, he would have his first Spurs assist.

In just a matter of minutes, Williams-Barnett created one big chance, the third-highest xA in the game, completed one of his two dribbles, and had three touches in the opposition box [FotMob].

Even his first touch of the ball was simply sensational, bringing it out of the sky like it was nothing. It's easy to see why Spurs fans have such high hopes.

Tottenham have a real star emerging from the ranks as thrilling footage emerges Forget James Maddison, his teammate will spearhead Tottenham top-six push after 97% display Tottenham's record departures

Of course, including recent signings, Williams-Barnett wouldn't technically be Spurs' only £100million player, given Sandro Tonali's transfer fee.

And even before that, Harry Kane's £86.4m move to Bayern Munich included lots of bonuses, all of which he is likely to have reached now.

The Ballon d'Or winner has almost certainly earned Spurs £100m. Now, fans will be hoping that Williams-Barnett can join that list, if he's ever sold, that is.

Gareth Bale's £85m move to Real Madrid is up next, followed by a huge gap, and then Luka Vuskovic's move to Brighton in the summer.

good morning everyone and welcome to november! The turning of the calendar means it's time to Take a Look at the Month Ahead, where hoddle HQ checks out the month's schedule for the men's and women's teams at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Tottenham Hotspur men's squad:

The boys enter November having won three games on the bounce. The last time they did that was more than 600 days ago. Is the tide beginning to turn?

I never like those questions because I follow Tottenham Hotspur, and history cautions me against believing corners have been turned. But this month's light selection of matches is temping. Oh boy, is it tempting.

Still, I'm looking forward to a difficult match against Leeds United on 7th November. Leeds haven't lost at home since March 3 (that was a 0-1 loss to Sunderland). This season, they're 1-3-0 at home against mostly decent competition. Form like that is difficult to break down, so I'm quite cautious heading into this weekend.

Then there are two matches against a surprisingly steady Ipswich Town and bottom-of-the-pack Sunderland. You might be surprise to learn Town have scored more goals than Spurs this season, although they have a -4 goal differential. Sunderland are looking pretty bad though, which isn't surprising given the additional football they have to play in Europe.

Seven points should be the minimum expectations, but I'll accept nine points.

November schedule: at Leeds (7 Nov); Ipswich Town (21 Nov); at Sunderland (29 Nov)

Tottenham Hotspur women's squad:

A little bit of a different form for the ladies. A 4-1 win against Bournemouth on Sunday snapped an ugly three-game skid in league play in which they were outscored 14-4. That shows there's still a large gap between Spurs and the rest of the league, even if they sit fourth.

We've got a mixed bag this month. Brighton will be a good test, and I think there are some good opportunities for their League Cup group play before a big test against Manchester City to end the month.

November schedule: Brighton (8 Nov); Crystal Place (11 Nov, Women's League Cup); Everton (14 Nov); Leicester (18 Nov, Women's League Cup); Man City (22 Nov)

Fitzie's track of the day: II B.S., by Charles Mingus

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: "The huge Luca Williams-Barnett mistake Tottenham can't make and Van Hecke's remarkable visitors"

The Athletic ($$): "Are Tottenham, at last, a good team again?"

The Telegraph: "Spurs win three in row for first time in 616 days to pile pressure on Sage"

Tottenham Hotspur Women will try to snap their three match losing streak in the WSL today as they travel to Birmingham City Women today. Spurs have had an absolutely brutal stretch of matches over the past month, losing to London City Lionesses, Chelsea, and Arsenal in consecutive weeks, thwarting a promising start in league play. The three match skid drops Spurs to fifth in the table, and puts a serious dent in their hopes to secure a Champions League spot this season.

While there are few easy matches in the WSL, thankfully Spurs aren't playing a title contender today. Birmingham City promoted to the WSL last season by winning WSL 2. They currently sit in 12th with just one league win. They do, however, have the current second leading scorer in the league in French striker Océane Hurtré, who has six goals in seven matches, two behind Bunny Shaw. Birmingham are underdogs against Spurs, but they'll be playing at home, and Hurtré is a player who absolutely deserves respect — she's a phenomenal talent who, if she continues her run of form, will absolutely be snapped up this summer by a better club. This is not a match on which Spurs can assume a win — not that they'll do that with Martin Ho in charge. They'll need to play well to get a result today or risk sliding further down the table.

The match is not televised, but the good news it IS streamed on YouTube. I'll try embedding it here, but the WSL is weird about embedding — you might have to click through to watch. The match is also streamed on Paramount+ in the USA.

How to Watch

Pierre Sage's struggles at Crystal Palace have compounded after a 2-0 loss to Tottenham.

The Eagles were not helped by Jean-Philippe Mateta's eary red card, with the Frenchman leaving his side down to 10-men.

Sympathies can be placed upon the Palace manager for that, as winning or getting a result with a man less is certainly difficult.

However, the 47-year-old is not helping himself with his team selections with the Selhurst Park side.

His decision-making has come under scrutiny, particularly when it comes to getting the best out of his attacking players.

If Palace are to turn their form around, Sage must start making bolder decisions and become ruthless.

Why Dwight McNeil cannot be a Crystal Palace regular

Dwight McNeil has started Crystal Palace's last two fixtures in the Premier League, but there has been little evidence to back up that decision.

Sage is under pressure at Selhurst Park, and his future as manager is certainly up in the air.

When a manager is teetering on the edge of being sacked, team selections will come under more scrutiny, and McNeil is one of those.

As per FotMob, McNeil was consistently second best in his duels against Tottenham, an issue that would have been unaffected by the red card.

The Englishman's individual battles are down to his own quality in beating the opposition.

The forward managed to win just 50 per cent of his ground duels - four out of eight - while he also won just a single aerial duel out of eight.

That provided him with a 12 per cent aerial duel success rate, and an overall duel success of 31 per cent.

Additionally, although Palace barely had the ball, with their 21 per cent possession, when they did, McNeil was incredibly wasteful.

He had just a 56 per cent pass accuracy with the least number of successful passes (five) among those who played at least a half.

Pierre Sage 'thrown under the bus' as Crystal Palace hierarchy risk fan backlash What can Sage change at Crystal Palace?

Whether Sage is still in a job by the time Palace's next fixture comes around remains to be seen.

However, if the Frenchman is in the dugout, changes must be made to his starting XI.

A European tie against Hoffenheim now awaits, and luckily Mateta will be available for that.

Sage will also have to rely on, and finally trust, some of Palace's summer signings.

Dario Osorio is awaiting his chance for the London side, while Evann Guessand is another who can be called upon.

Tottenham Hotspur are now winners of three in a row, and they were absolutely lights out again this Saturday on Halloween against rivals Crystal Palace, ensuring there would be no spooky surprises for a suddenly upbeat fan base. Spurs were never in doubt, benefiting from an early red card from Palace's star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 13th minute, and they cruised to another 2-0 victory that was expectedly even more dominant than their 2-0 coup at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

Although Sandro Tonali did not put up the most gaudy statistics, everyone who watched Tottenham walk all over Crystal Palace this weekend could see that the Italian international was the grand architect of the win.

After coming of age as the midfield general in another grand performance as Tottenham pitched their historic clean sheet at Stamford Bridge last time out, Tonali proved he could take a backseat and let Mateus Fernandes sparkle, the center backs come up and playmake, and the attack hold most of the ball while he covered the spaces behind them.

Sandro Tonali puts the team first always

Tonali would join the attack and did help add more numbers, but he knew exactly how to place himself off the ball so that the biggest creative and scoring threats would be able to take up the best positions.

Defensively, that is where Sandro Tonali continues to shine the most, and this game against Crystal Palace was no exception. Palace held no threat to Spurs defensively, and a big part of that was the ball winning of the dual defensive midfield pivot of Mateus Fernandes and Tonali. The Italian international had one fewer tackle than Fernandes with four, but he had two interceptions to lead the team in combined interventions.

And, of course, Tonali kept Tottenham ticking over in possession with 93 percent of his 74 pass attempts completed. Tonali bossed the pitch just has he has been doing over the past month, and now that the fitness issues and transition period that marred his difficult start are over, we are getting to see the best of the 2021/22 Serie A champion in Lilywhite colors.

What really separates Tonali and what stood out the most against Palace was the unselfishness he has as a leader. Tonali works hard and puts his nose down for the team, and he is more interested in making the team tick and his teammates better than pursue his own stats. In this day and age of people who are posers and care more about social media, clout, and fame in a world where stats and highlights rule, Tonali cares more about winning, the game, his teammates, and honor. Everyone ate against Palace, and Tonali was a huge reason why they all looked so good around him.

Today's best reads

Mateus Fernandes is starting a bold argument after masterclass for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace

Mateus Fernandes has taken even more pressure off of Sandro Tonali

Tottenham Hotspur Are Finally Giving Fans Reasons to Believe Again

Mateus Fernandes has the chance to make the ultimate statement for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace

The Mateus Fernandes breakout is just begging to happen for Tottenham vs. Chelsea

While Omar Marmoush did not score or assist whlie starting in the No. 10 role for Tottenham Hotspur with James Maddison not quite fit enough to start against Crystal Palace this weekend after last week's injury exit in the 50th minute of the 2-0 win over Chelsea (nor was it prudent to risk the all important starter either), he still had a positive game as part of a larger positive effort in this 2-0 win over Palace at home.

Marmoush had three key passes and three dribbles completed as one of the most effective dribblers on the team and one of several players to rule the roost against the Eagles as a creative force. The Egyptian international started behind Dominic Solanke and was a lot more effective than the main player he is competing with to be the starting striker of Tottenham going forward.

When Maddison is ready to start, which will presumably be next weekend, Marmoush has a clear advantage over Solanke as the No. 9 after Big Dom's latest slumping performance while Marmoush was at least an all around asset despite not being a real goal threat himself.

Omar Marmoush is a better option than Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher

But in terms of options at the 10 if Maddison is not able to play in the future again, Marmoush ensured that he will be ahead of Roberto De Zerbi's old favorite Conor Gallagher on the list of backups. While Gallagher seemed like he would have been a strong option against Palace with his work rate and ability to press, the difference in terms of technical ability, creativity, and obviously skill on the ball and athleticism goes to Omar Marmoush in spades.

Marmoush did plenty to prove that he is a better backup No. 10 to James Maddison than Gallagher, and until Dejan Kulusevski is healthy enough to start games from the beginning, which may not be for another few weeks, the Egyptian international will be preferred.

So in this way, Marmoush won the competition at the 9 against Dominic Solanke and won the backup 10 competition against Conor Gallagher by putting in a solid shift against Crystal Palace. Of course, given the cost of the transfer with 60 million pounds due to Manchester City upon the conclusion of the 2026/27 Premier League season, Tottenham will want to see goals and assists from their new center forward. But this was a positive game from Marmoush in a big win and another step forward from a player who is starting to find a groove in the lineup.

Today's best reads

Conor Gallagher actually makes sense at the 10 for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace

Tottenham's best option for replacing James Maddison involves a major position change

Omar Marmoush needs to show his savvy if Tottenham want to upset Chelsea

Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace player ratings: Spurs win their third on the bounce

Dominic Solanke needs to have only one thing in his mind right now