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LONDON — After a tough start to the season, Tottenham Hotspur’s new captain Micky van de Ven wants everyone to calm down a bit and focus on some of the positives.

Yes, Spurs have lost their opening two games in the Premier League and have conceded five and scored zero, but there were some decent moments of promise in their home defeat against Newcastle United on Saturday.

The Dutch center back believes things are heading in the right direction under Roberto De Zerbi as they develop a new style of play with plenty of new players settling in.

“It’s a lot of ball-playing football and I think we have a lot of quality and I think what you said, there were some glimpses of it that you see already,” Van de Ven said. “There’s a lot of positive things to take and this is something we need to improve even more and make it better and better and something we need to work really hard for.”

Near-relegation still hanging in the air

No matter how hard Spurs are working right now, it still feels tough for them to get over the fact that they stayed up on the final day of last season. The hangover of near catastrophic relegation is still there.

When Spurs went 1-0 down in the second half against Newcastle, they pretty much crumbled. There was an acceptance of defeat among the fans and players. That mood is hard to shake.

“I think we created a lot of chances and we had a lot of ball possession but then they scored the 1-0 and I have the feeling that our mood maybe went a little bit down at that point,” Van de Ven admitted. “I think that’s something we can maybe work on. A lot of positive things to take from today but also a lot of things we can improve.”

New signings will take time to bed in

As eight new signings settle in at Spurs, improvement will clearly come soon.

Van de Ven praised new forward Omar Marmoush and the quality he has, yet he also admitted it will take time for things to settle down.

But he doesn’t want that to be seen as an excuse for Spurs’ slow start to the season.

“A lot of new players are coming in so a lot of things are changing because you need to get used to each other as well as being on the pitch,” Van de Ven said. “I won’t say it’s an excuse for the results we have the last two games but it’s also something we need to improve. We need to get to know each other better and better and that’s going to take some time probably. But we want to do it as quick as possible to play as good as possible. That’s the most important thing right now.”

After being at the World Cup with the Netherlands this summer, Van de Ven missed a lot of Spurs’ preseason and revealed he recently had an issue with his knee which is now sorted.

His presence at the heart of Spurs’ defense is going to be crucial and De Zerbi needs the 25-year-old Dutchman, who signed a new long-term contract this summer, to step up and lead this team.

Home form and building on glimpses of “unbelievable football” crucial

Whatever positives are developing with their play on the pitch, this is still a Spurs team which has won just three of their last 23 home league games.

How tough is it to change that mentality around?

“It’s really frustrating because at home you want to win every game in the season. You feel the fans behind us every time over and over again. It feels a little bit that we let them down,” Van de Ven said. “That’s something we need to change because teams need to hate to play here because they know it’s going to be a really, really tough game to play away at Tottenham. That’s something we can change as quick as possible and also the same for away days. We just need to be consistent. We need to play consistent and then the results will come.”

Despite the tough start to this season and alarm bells ringing in the background given what happened last season, the main message from De Zerbi and his captain Van de Ven after this game was clear: don’t panic.

“There are a lot of games to go and I think there are a lot of positive things that we can take from today and we don’t have to panic,” Van de Ven said. “Because I think what you said before, there are some glimpses we played unbelievable football and now we need to make sure that the results are positive at the end of the game.”

LONDON — Omar Marmoush heading to Tottenham Hotspur was a surprise summer transfer, but on first viewing it looks like a perfect fit for everyone.

Spurs have to sort out the rest of their team and get Marmoush more service, of course, but the Egyptian forward looked sharp on his debut and knitted everything together very nicely in attack during a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday

It was clear that Marmoush was the main positive from Spurs’ disappointing defeat.

MORE — De Zerbi reaction | How Newcastle hit the ground running

He brought their other forwards into the game easily, made clever runs and passes, turned quickly to get Spurs going, and made a real difference whenever the ball was near him.

He peeled off to the back post and sent a difficult volley into the side-netting in the first half and then right at the start of the second half he nipped in front of Malick Thiaw and looked to have won a penalty kick but nothing was given.

With Spurs under pressure he charged towards goal, beat several defenders, and then sent a dipping shot from distance just wide of the post.

That got the home fans going and that is what Marmoush is all about.

Omar Marmoush looks a perfect fit for new club Tottenham Hotspur

Marmoush did have a good opportunity to score late on but saw a tough volleyed chance saved, but the overriding vibes from his debut are positive.

Spurs fans cheered his name loudly before the game and will walk away afterwards feeling very positive about his arrival, as he led the game in dribbles and was second to teammate Pedro Porro in shot attempts. His three created chances were also a joint game-high (Mateus Fernandes) and he was involved in 11 duels.

This style of football at Spurs suits Marmoush’s strengths much more than playing at Manchester City ever did.

ANALYSIS — Signs of progress in Spurs loss

He is built to make the most of transition chances and De Zerbi’s pressing tactics will suit his reactionary instincts well.

Marmoush played the entire 90 minutes and was the main bright spark for Spurs as the rest of their attack was subbed off.

If they can find a way to get Marmoush more involved in games, Spurs have found their new bright spark in attack.

Marmoush is clearly going to be a hit. He now needs more of his Spurs teammates to step up and match his level.

Roberto De Zerbi has been speaking in North London, and says he felt his team was a bit hard done by the 2-0 loss.

He’s asking for calm and says things will come together (Full quotes here).

“I’m not panicked,” De Zerbi said. “I know very well where I’m going, what’s the plan, and what could be a difficult problem. We can find our way. I’m sorry for the fans for the result and sorry for the players. We have to improve and to change a season like the last two is impossible in two days and with the transfer market. We have to find the connection with the players because last season we were headed for the Championship and we stayed up together, not just the players but with the fans and the club. We have to be calm and to focus on improvement. We have a great squad, great players. We can’t use all the players we brought. If we work in this way and believe in ourselves, we will change the last two seasons. If the rush is more important than the journey we have to do, we can’t find the solution.”

Jaissle on the performance: “I’m really, really proud. As a coaching staff to see a team delivering and players really, really committed to what we’re doing.”

A big step forward this week? “We did well also last week therefore it was a step in the right direction again against a strong opponent with huge signings in the window. Obviously we were aware of that but how we handled that challenge was amazing.”

How does the team look so good, so early? “It’s also not a complete new team and the DNA of Newcastle United is a good fit to the playing style I like to see.”

You praise the signing of Nico Gonzalez for ‘quality.’ Expand on that: “Obviously when he has the ball, he has good timing when to deliver in the last line but also when to slow down the game a little and finding time to regenerate our batteries — a really good debut.”

Newcastle striker Yoane Wissa is giving huge praise to new boss Matthias Jaissle:

“Eddie Howe’s done a top job at the club — we need to respect that,” Wissa said after the game. “But a new manager came with a new identity. Every part of the game we do precise and we have a dynamic new manager. I think he’s the best signing of Newcastle so far.”

Wissa was also asked about his performances, and Newcastle’s surprise start.

“We lost so many players but it’s good because it’s challenging,” said Yoane Wissa. “We need players to step up. Like me for instance, I didn’t play well last year, I didn’t have strength to play. Anthony now, and new guys like Amar. With the fans behind us, no one can stop us.”

So what’s different with Wissa this season?

“First, I’m not injured. Secondly, I’m confident now. I trust myself. I trust the manager. I just my teammates. Even though I didn’t play well last year we had so many training sessions together.”

Wissa feeling confident, comfortable at Newcastle

Yoane Wissa recaps Newcastle's win over Spurs, his hot start to the season, and what's changed for him over the past year since his move from Brentford.

With Newcastle 2-0 up and cruising, perhaps the biggest roar from their fans today has come when Sandro Tonali was subbed off.

The Italian midfielder had a game to forget against his former club. He was turned easily by Elanga before he scored Newcastle’s crucial opener and that summed up a miserable afternoon for the midfielder.

After his big-money move from Newcastle to Spurs this summer, plenty was expected of Tonali.

It’s still early days but he has struggled in his first two games for the north London club.

“You should have stayed at a big club!” sing the Newcastle fans to Tonali as he trudges off the pitch.

Ouch.

Out of nothing Spurs are behind and the general reaction from the fans was “meh, we’ve seen this before.”

Spurs had such a poor record at home last season and aside from a bright 15 minutes at the end of the first half thanks to Marmoush and Tel, they’ve not looked great today.

Lots of new players are still settling in but this is not what Tottenham’s fans would have expected.

Mathys Tel spanks a free kick way over the bar amid jeers and that about sums it up so far.

They are hoping the Ghanian winger, who spent most of last season out injured, can be the spark to grab them at least a point today.

Time is running out though...

After that bright start from Newcastle, Spurs are looking the more likely to go ahead now.

Marmoush has been really sharp on the break and he is linking up well with Porro and Tel.

The latter just sent in a cross which Tonali couldn’t quite direct towards goal.

Spurs have been much better after that shaky start. Newcastle haven’t been able to keep the ball at all, which is probably going to be the norm under Jaissle as he prefers counter attacks.

There were plenty of eyebrows raised when Omar Marmoush signed from Manchester City, but the Egyptian striker could really work out to be a great fit for Spurs.

On his debut he’s already holding the ball up well and two good chances for Spurs come after clever play for him.

First he turns and crisply plays it out to Tel who goes close with a shot that is saved.

Then he turns and connects another pass which leads to Pedro Porro somehow being denied.

Marmoush is buzzing around and looks really sharp.

Given the way they want to play under De Zerbi, Spurs seem to be a much better fit for Marmoush’s strengths than Man City were.

Sandro Tonali, who left Newcastle for Spurs this summer, is widely booed by the Newcastle fans in the away end when he gets on the ball.

Despite a superb few years at St James’ Park, Tonali is no longer their hero.

Newcastle’s fans then sing about Tonali being greedy and he’s then fed a short pass by Robertson which ends in Willock clattering him.

Moments later Tonali gives the ball away again. Much to the delight of the away end.

Spurs spent a lot of money to bring in the Italian midfielder and, like Spurs, he’s started this game slowly.

There are so many new players out there for both teams that it’s a little bit scrappy so far.

Lots of loose passes and turnovers.

First home game of the new season for Tottenham Hotspur and their resident DJ continues to dish out the bangers.

Techno music is thumping out over the speakers here and there is a real buzz and energy about the place.

The first home game of a new season is always such a special moment.

So much excitement, optimism, hope.

Let’s see if Spurs can put right last season (and the shocking loss at Brentford last week) and start as they mean to go on at home this season.

Meanwhile, it’s impossible not to bob your head along to this music. The vibes are phenomenal.

“Marmoush is starting, Marmoush is starting!” shouts an excited young Spurs fans sat near the press box here.

And, I can confirm, Omar Marmoush is starting for Spurs. The Egyptian striker is straight in for his first appearance for Tottenham Hotspur after his arrival on a season-long loan, with an obligation to buy, from Man City.

New signings Savio isn’t on the bench and there are whispers here of a small injury for him.

Pedro Porro, Mateus Fernandes, Micky van De Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur also come into the starting lineup.

It looks like Marmoush is up top with Porro, Fernandes and Tel underneath him and Tonali and Bentancur sitting in midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Spurs will be looking to prove that loss at Brentford last weekend was a one-off.

Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup

Kinsky; Gray, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Robertson; Tonali, Bentancur; Porro, Fernandes, Tel; Marmoush

Roberto De Zerbi did not take the easy out when asked about the time he needs to turn Spurs into his team.

“We don’t need time to win the game,” he said, via Spurs’ web site. “Maybe we are not ready yet to play our best in terms of physical condition, in terms of style of play, quality of play but, anyway, we have the quality enough right now to win the game and to play much better - it’s normal to play better than we did in Brentford.”

Roberto De Zerbi won’t have experienced many surprise disappointments as shocking and gloomy as Tottenham Hotpur’s Week 1 loss to Brentford in the Premier League.

How much of the hope instilled in Tottenham Hotspur supporters during a busy, spend-happy summer was destroyed by 90 flummoxing minutes in Brentford on Saturday, when Spurs went down early to their organized hosts and never really found any footing?

MORE — Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur recap, video highlights

De Zerbi will have to shoulder plenty of the blame, for sure, as his starting midfield never found its footing and his eyebrow-raising decision to keep both James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes on the bench looked worse and worse as the first half stretched toward the break. Spurs’ wayward play turned to bleak as Lucas Bergvall made poor decisions on both of Brentford’s first-half goals.

Young midfielder Archie Gray was the captain on the day — the youngest ever to pull on the band for Spurs — and had a straight-forward review of the game, one that mimicked his coach’s feelings.

“We lost too many duels — they just out-fought us all over the park,” Gray said. “They just out-fought us. For some reason, some days in football a team will out fight another team. There’s not really words for it. ... I don’t think there are any excuses to be honest. We’ll all look ourselves in the mirror. It wasn’t good enough.”

MORE — How good are Keith Andrews’ Bees?

Bergvall was removed at the break along with Conor Gallagher in favor of Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur, while another surprise young starter in Mikey Moore put two glorious chances within reach of Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher before giving way to Maddison.

Spurs’ spending has fueled hopes of a top-five run but the North Londoners’ Week 1 performance against a well-drilled, little-changed Brentford will remind many how much time it often takes for a team to come together.

Roberto De Zerbi reaction — What did Tottenham Hotspur boss say after brutal debut blowout?

What went wrong? “We suffered physicality but we knew before the game [it would be a physical game] yet we were not ready to fight in the duels. We made a lot of mistakes in the timing in the pressure with Mikey Moore in the left center, we arrived too many times late, I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for the defeat. We have to improve in the physical condition and the organization. There were many new players and it’s the first game, a part of our journey. We knew before the game, we had a lot of new players to become a team. We needed soul. Today, there was the soul but we didn’t fight in the right way for the difference of duels because Brentford is one of the most important teams in the Premier League in terms of duels. Fair game.”

“I believe in my players. It was a game especially in the first half in one direction. We were not in the right position to make the high pressure. If you analyze the game, you can see how many duels we lost in the first half. The way of the game went in the direction of Brentford.”

“We didn’t play well. We didn’t fight in the right way. We didn’t remember the last season because all of these players are good people and people with value and memory but we lost too many duels. One of the best qualities is 1v1 the man-to-man, the want to win the duel.”

How many personnel changes will we see over the coming weeks? “The first 11 was able to compete normally if the game went in this way. Now we can say a lot of things but I don’t lose confidence in my players or as people. We have to work. We have to work. We have to improve and better analyze the game to find improvement.”

“We can’t destroy everything because we are working well. We are improving the physical condition of the players. It’s not at the same point for all players, as some started the season late like Senesi, Bergvall, a lot of players but I don’t want excuses, I want to focus on the improvement we need to do. The first thing is to find the right spirit to fight.”

After a busy summer of remaking the team in Roberto De Zerbi’s image, Tottenham Hotspur have to do the hard part of the job now: Win games on the field, beginning with Saturday’s trip to west London to face Brentford.

A few familiar faces (Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Joao Palhinha) have already gone and more will still follow, but Spurs moved quickly and decisively to make over their defense and midfield early in the transfer window. Jan Paul van Hecke ($70 million) was signed from Brighton, where he previously played for De Zerbi, and Andrew Robertson and Marcos Senesi signed on free transfers to round out the backline, while the new dynamic duo of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes was paired together in midfield for a cool $250 million. Now it’s just the forward line which requires reinforcements, and it shouldn’t be long before they arrive with Savinho and Omar Marmoush reportedly both on their way from Manchester City. There is real optimism among Spurs fans ahead of the 2026-27 Premier League season, as the club’s manager and board appear to (finally) be singing from the same hymn sheet.

A few miles to the west, Brentford have never been anything but copacetic since arriving in the top flight in 2021. Thomas Frank departed (for Spurs) last summer after leading the Bees to the PL and establishing them as a perennial mid-table side over four years, yet they kicked right on under Keith Andrews, finishing 9th and narrowly missing out on European qualification for the first time in club history (due to goal difference). After years of losing their best players to bigger sides (and turning incredible profits in the process), Brentford are virtually unchanged from an outgoing perspective. 36-year-old Jordan Henderson is the only player of significance to have gone, meaning Igor Thiago (22 goals), Kevin Schade (8 goals, 3 assists) and Dango Ouattara (7 goals, 3 assists) are all back and ready to pick up where they left off last season. If midfielder Mamadou Sangare proves to be worth the $56 million that Brentford paid for him, they’ll be in middle of the European hunt once again.

Here’s everything you need for Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur.

How to watch Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 12:30 pm ET Saturday (August 22)

Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — London

TV Channel: NBC

Stream link: Watch online via NBC.com

Brentford team news

OUT: Sepp van den Berg (undisclosed)

Spurs team news

OUT: Xavi Simons (torn ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Wilson Odobert (torn ACL) | QUESTIONABLE: Dominic Solanke (ankle)

Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction

Tottenham Hotspur’s summer spending spree is reportedly set to continue as the club will break its one- or two-day-old transfer record by signing midfielder Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for up to $133 million.

MORE — Spurs, West Ham agree deal for Mateus Fernandes

Spurs agreed to sign another midfielder, Mateus Fernandes, from West Ham United for $112 million on Tuesday as Roberto De Zerbi rebuilds the side that finished 17th in the Premier League in back-to-back seasons. Manchester City were linked with a move for Tonali agreeing to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest last week.

Where do Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes fit in Spurs’ midfield plans?

Tonali and Fernandes should quickly become Spurs’ starting midfield, given not only their price tags but especially De Zerbi’s desired playing style. Under the Italian, Brighton often made every effort to bait opponents to press them high up the field in order to create transitional moments during periods of possession. The midfielders must be athletic to escape pressure while carrying the ball forward, or possess the vision and skill to find and connect one-touch passes upfield.

Spurs are spending freely after decades of penny pinching under Daniel Levy’s leadership. Now, in the first summer transfer window since his departure, the Lewis family have already empowered De Zerbi in a way that no manager before him was given.

Yves Bissouma left the club this week after his contract expired on June 30 and it looks increasingly likely that the option in Joao Palhinha’s loan to make the move permanent will not be executed. Conor Gallagher, Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are the other midfielders vying for minutes in midfield, though Gray and Bergvall have been the subject of transfer rumors in recent days.

West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes was a wanted man this summer and it seems like Tottenham Hotspur have won the race to sign the Portuguese prodigy.

Fernandes, 21, dazzled for the Hammers during the 2025-26 season but after they were relegated on the final day (with Spurs staying up instead) it always seemed likely he would be sold.

Linked with moves to Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and others this summer, reports from David Ornstein and the BBC both say that Spurs have won the race to sign Fernandes in a deal totaling $112 million.

How good is Mateus Fernandes? And how will he fit in at Spurs?

Fernandes is exactly the kind of energetic, all-action central midfielder who will thrive under Roberto De Zerbi at Spurs.

They have been crying out for a central midfielder like him to link midfield and attack and Fernandes has been consistently excellent in the Premier League for the last two years on very bad teams as he was relegated with both Southampton and West Ham in back-to-back campaigns.

This is big money for Spurs to spend, especially on top of the money already paid to sign center back Jan Paul van Hecke, but it makes sense. A huge overhaul is coming after they just escaped relegation last season.

With Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi signed on free transfers and Van Hecke confirmed and Fernandes coming in, Spurs will have a much more solid look to them next season.

Tottenham Hotspur have taken their relegation fight to the final day of the 2025-26 season (Sunday, 11 am ET), needing just a point at home against Everton to stay in the Premier League next season.

WATCH — Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton

Spurs (17th) sit two points clear of rivals West Ham in 18th, but with a goal difference vastly superior to the Hammers (-10 to -22), a draw will do. Notably, Spurs have only won two PL games at home all season — opening day in August, and their last one on Dec. 6 (0W-4D-6L since). Roberto De Zerbi’s side has been incredibly short on attacking quality (and depth) in recent weeks due to injuries, but the Italian revealed a bit of good news on that front on Friday, regarding midfielder James Maddison and forward Dominic Solanke. “Maddison is available. It’s always tough to decide before the game how many minutes he can play. … Solanke is available for selection. We have to decide if he starts in the first XI or not.”

Everton are firmly entrenched for a mid-table finish in David Moyes’ first full season back in charge. After fighting relegation down to the very end three seasons in a row, Moyes has taken the Toffees to 13th and 12th (currently) in just 18 months.

See below for everything you need to know about Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton.

How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton live, stream link and start time

Kickoff time: 11 am ET Sunday (May 24)

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London

TV Channel: NBC

Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com

Spurs team news, focus

OUT: Cristian Romero (knee), Xavi Simons (knee), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee)

Everton team news, focus

OUT: Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring), Jack Grealish (foot) | QUESTIONABLE: Idrissa Gueye (undisclosed)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton prediction

LONDON — Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, as Spurs are still in relegation trouble heading into the final day of the season.

MORE — Roberto De Zerbi reaction

Roberto De Zerbi’s side started well but a first half beauty from Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead and they doubled their lead through Andrey Santos in the second half.

Richarlison scored late on to set up a wild finale as Spurs came close to grabbing the point they needed to all but secure Premier League survival.

But instead they now go into their final game of the season at home against Everton knowing a win will keep them in the Premier League. They are on 38 points, two points ahead of West Ham who host Leeds on the final day.

A draw against Everton will almost certainly be enough for Spurs too, as they have a 12-goal advantage over West Ham in the race to stay up. But if Spurs lose at home to Everton, a win for West Ham will keep them up and relegate Spurs.

Chelsea are still in the hunt for European qualification as they move on to 52 points and can finish seventh if they win at Sunderland on the final day, which would seal a Europa League spot.

Incoming Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso will have been happy with a lot of what he saw, but there is clearly plenty of work for him to do when he arrives this summer from July 1.

Extended HLs: Spurs v. Leeds Matchweek 36  NBC Sports