BBC

Nottingham Forest's Europa League campaign is a problem for their boss Sean Dyche, because it is a distraction from their relegation fight.

Of course Forest want to do well in Europe but if you asked Dyche what his priority is then it has to be climbing the table.

As for Tottenham, I still don't know what we are going to get from them.

Yes, they have won back-to-back home games against Brentford and Slavia Prague but that doesn't mean they have turned the corner.

A lot depends on what kind of team Dyche puts out on Thursday against Utrecht but if he focuses mostly on Spurs then I can see this being a very tight game.

I have already gone for a lot of draws this week, but this is another one where I don't feel confident backing either team to win it.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Premier League LIVE: Sunderland vs Newcastle, Palace vs Man City, Forest vs Spurs & West Ham vs Villa  BBC

Nottingham Forest seek to move further from the relegation places when they host Spurs at the City Ground on Sunday. BBC Sport explores some of the key talking points around this game.

Forest's 2-1 victory at Utrecht on Thursday was their first away win in a major European competition for 30 years.

The display was an improvement from the inferior showing at Everton last weekend, during which Forest shipped three Premier League goals without reply for the fourth time this season.

"We were nowhere near it on the physical side," admitted Sean Dyche after the 3-0 loss on Merseyside. "We were trying to come here to play, but we didn't start well. The players deserve a lot of credit, but they have to fight and play to their shape. We were well short of that."

Anderson is key

Elliot Anderson was one of the few players to emerge with any credit from the previous Premier League outing. The England midfielder had the most touches of any player with 94, completed the joint most passes with 60 and won 12 duels – two more than anyone else.

Anderson's importance to this Forest team is well documented and no other Premier League midfielder has contributed more line-breaking passes in the opponent's half this season than the 23-year old.

Forest completed the Premier League double over Spurs last season but Dyche has a poor record against the Lilywhites. The 54-year-old has won two of his 17 Premier League clashes with the north London club, drawing five and losing 10, with his last victory back in February 2022 while in charge of Burnley.

Frank finding solutions

Tottenham travel to the East Midlands seeking to win three successive games for the first time under Thomas Frank. The pressure had been mounting on the 52-year-old head coach after a series of limp London derby performances, but it appears one of the solutions to his side's problems was right under his nose.

Gray matters

The appearance of Archie Gray in central midfield has coincided with back-to-back home victories for Spurs and the 19-year-old is staking a serious claim to be part of Frank's starting XI going forward.

The teenager was comparable to a Swiss army knife under Ange Postecoglou last term and he was used in a multitude of positions, with centre-back and right-back his most common.

This season, he has predominantly played in his favoured midfield birth and seems, for now, to be the missing link between defence and attack.

Tottenham attacking midfielder Xavi Simons says playing in the Premier League has "always been the objective", but admits he is facing "a challenging period" for the first time in his career.

The 22-year-old joined Thomas Frank's side in August in a £51.8m move from RB Leipzig.

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show about why he wanted to play in the English top flight, Simons said: "I wanted to play in the best league in the world and prove to myself I could do it.

"That is the motivation I've always had. With no disrespect to any other league, there is everything here - technical players, physical players and tactical coaches.

"The project at Tottenham is really exciting too. We have a lot of good, young players in the squad and that is what got me most excited.

"I want to win titles this year and I want to compete for everything, so this was the right decision for me."

When asked about having a strong mindset at such a young age, Simons replied: "The mentality I have is because of my mum. I have the same mentality as her.

"If I had to describe my mindset in one word, it would be discipline. I never negotiate with myself and I know what I have to give up to get to where I want to be.

"A lot of things can happen to you as a footballer, in a positive way and a negative way, but the one thing you have to keep is discipline. That is a non-negotiable for me.

"Every day I wake up and say to myself: 'I need to stand up. Today is a new day and a new journey.'"

This will be seventh major European match between Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund – the German side won both in the UEFA Europa League in 2015-16 but Spurs have won all four in the Champions League, across the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.

Borussia Dortmund have played more UEFA Champions League games against Spurs without winning than any other club (P4 L4), while they’ve only lost more often against Real Madrid (8).

Borussia Dortmund have lost 10 of their 14 away UEFA Champions League matches in England (W3 D1), including losing seven of their most recent eight visits (W1). They’ve lost at the Etihad this season in a 4-1 defeat to Man City.

Tottenham Hotspur are the only side to have won all three of their home UEFA Champions League matches without conceding this season, scoring eight goals in their three wins. They’re unbeaten in their last 23 home European matches (incl. qualifiers), winning 19 and drawing four since a 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in February 2020.

Tottenham have kept a clean sheet in 54% of their UEFA Champions League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (7/13). Among teams to play more than 10 games at a stadium in Champions League history, only Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón (62%, 21/34) and Arsenal at the Emirates (56%, 35/63) have kept a clean sheet in a higher percentage of their games at one stadium.

Borussia Dortmund have the highest shot conversion rate (24%) in the UEFA Champions League this season, and are the team who have overperformed their xG total by the biggest margin (+6.2 – 19 goals from 12.8 expected goals).

Tottenham’s most frequent source of goals in the UEFA Champions League this season has been own goals by the opposition (3), ahead of Randal Kolo Muani and Micky van de Ven who have scored two each.

Since the start of last season, Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy has been directly involved in more goals (22) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League (16 goals, six assists). His 16 goals are also the joint-most by any player in this period, along with Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé.

Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha has scored with three of his five shots from outside the box in the UEFA Champions League this season (60%). This is the highest conversion rate by a player with 3+ goals from outside the box in a single edition since Oscar for Chelsea in 2012-13 (3/4 – 75%).

Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck has made more line-breaking passes (85) than any other defender in the UEFA Champions League this season, while he also leads all defenders in the same metric in the competition since the start of last season (286).

Son Heung-min, as he did so often in a magnificent Tottenham Hotspur career, arrived on the scene with perfect timing.

The great South Korean, who scored 173 goals in 454 games for Spurs, was back at the club for the first time since leaving for Los Angeles FC in the summer.

It was fitting that it was a big European night that marked the return of the talisman who played a key role when Spurs reached the Champions League Final in 2019 and made his farewell appearance as captain when they won their first trophy for 17 years by beating Manchester United in the Europa League Final in Bilbao last season.

An emotional Son addressed Spurs fans before kick-off, receiving a predictably rapturous reception, before watching Thomas Frank's team take another important step forward with a comfortable Champions League win against Slavia Prague.

It was almost as if Spurs were fated to deliver in the presence of one of their modern greats, who went to view a mural painted in his honour before kick-off having been unable to say goodbye when he left for the United States.

Son's presence added a feel-good factor in an environment that has endured its share of toxicity this season as Frank has struggled to convince Spurs fans of his suitability to tackle a more high-profile task than at previous club Brentford.

And there is no doubt this has been a vital week for Frank, whose short spell at Spurs hit a low after the recent defeat at home to Fulham, when he publicly criticised those who jeered keeper Guglielmo Vicario after a mistake led to a goal as "not true Tottenham fans."

This is a high-risk, high stakes strategy. Frank needed results to back up that sort of confrontational talk and in the last three games Spurs have delivered.

Spurs came from behind twice to earn a point at Newcastle United, cruised past Frank's former club Brentford, then added this convincing 3-0 win against Slavia Prague to this mini-revival.

Before the victory against Brentford, Spurs had played 16 league games at home in 2025, winning only three and losing 10. This is the tide Frank has to turn.

This was not a perfect performance, with too many opportunities given to a mediocre Slavia side, but Spurs were always in control and have now moved to the edge of the top eight place in the Champions League table that guarantees automatic entry into the knockout phase.

In the Champions League context, it was also the perfect response to the 5-3 loss away to holders Paris St-Germain in their last game, in which Spurs actually played well for an hour before being over-powered by sheer quality.

The heavy defeat was something of an outlier in this campaign, with Spurs securing four clean sheets from their six games so far, conceding seven overall.

If Frank is looking for vital signs of progress, he will also detect them in the improved performances of Xavi Simons in his last two games, making one goal and scoring another against Brentford, followed by another significant contribution against Slavia.

He was joined by Mohammed Kudus in providing real threat – and even competition between themselves when Spurs were awarded two second-half penalties.

Before this, Spurs were given huge assistance with their opening goal after 26 minutes, Slavia defender David Sima directing a header past his own keeper Jindrich Stanek with some aplomb after Cristian Romero had flicked on Pedro Porro's corner.

Spurs' win was sealed with those two second-half spot-kicks, Simons very keen on taking the first before Kudus assumed responsibility successfully, but then getting his chance later when he was brought down by Igoh Ogbu.

Kudus had, at this time, been replaced by Mathys Tel. Captain Romero handed the ball to Simons, who completed the formalities.

Having lost six consecutive Premier League games against Spurs between 1998 and 2024, Nottingham Forest did the league double against them last season.

Tottenham haven’t won any of their five Premier League away games when conceding against Nottingham Forest (D1 L4), with all three of their victories at the City Ground being to nil.

Only bottom side Wolves (9) have failed to score in more different Premier League games than Nottingham Forest this season (8). However, when they do manage to find the net, Forest are unbeaten in their last 11 league games (W6 D5) since a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in April.

Following their 2-0 win over Brentford last time out, Tottenham are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since August when they beat Burnley and Manchester City in their opening two games.

Only Crystal Palace have won more Premier League away games (5) and points (16) than Tottenham this season (4 wins, 14 points), while Spurs are also the only side to have scored in all of their games on the road so far this term.

Tottenham have the largest difference between goals scored (25) and expected goals (15) in the Premier League this season, netting around 10 goals more than their xG suggests.

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has won just two of his 17 Premier League games against Spurs (D5 L10), with both of those victories coming with Burnley (2-1 February 2019, 1-0 February 2022).

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche’s next Premier League defeat will be his 153rd in the competition, putting him joint seventh on the list of most managerial defeats in the competition alongside Arsène Wenger, albeit the Frenchman has managed 488 more matches (828) in the competition than Dyche (340).

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson had made more line breaking passes in the opponent’s half than any other player in the Premier League this season (90).

Richarlison has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other Tottenham player this season (8 – 6 goals, 2 assists). The Brazilian has had a hand in 18 goals (17 goals, 1 assist) in his last 24 league starts for Spurs.

Frank revealed that defender Destiny Udogie would be out until January after picking up a hamstring injury at the end of the Newcastle game last week.

He said Brennan Johnson is "touch and go" after missing training on Monday.

Midfielder James Maddison returned to training on Monday but Frank said it will still be "a long time" until he's fully fit: "It's very early stages, still a long term injury. Good to see him out there, but no specific time frame."

The Spurs boss also revealed that there is an internal investigation into midfielder Yves Bissouma, who was recently filmed inhaling nitrous oxide: "It's an internal matter we are dealing with at the moment."

On following the weekend win over Brentford: "It's always good to build momentum, to get more consistent performances. We will try to build on that tomorrow night, we have a good opportunity against a Slavia Prague side who are very direct and physical, man mark all over the pitch. That can particularly make it difficult for us. It is about us making sure we perform well, with forwardness and directness in attacking play."

When asked about back-up keeper Antonin Kinsky, who joined from Slavia Prague last season, Frank said: "Toni is a very good goalkeeper, he has a great future ahead of him. It is difficult for any player, if you are not playing you are not 100% happy. You just need to keep your head down and keep training every day."

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Tottenham Hotspur v Slavia Prague (Tue, 20.00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs attacker Mohammed Kudus on whether bumpy playing surfaces helped him to develop as a child:

"In the sun you don't know or expect how the ball will move or bounce, you have to react to it quickly. That was the situation back then, it's something we want to change now. Playing on good pitches here, helps. But looking at it from a positive point of view, it helps your technique in a way. When you don't know where the ball will move or it changes quickly, it's going to help when you have a better pitch.

"It's definitely we are definitely all playing a part to improve back home, to get children growing up with better pitches, which helps their development when they're growing up."

'The stool was a one time thing'

Tottenham Hotspur v Slavia Prague (Tue, 20.00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs attacker Mohammed Kudus on the stool he celebrated with at West Ham:

"It was just one time that I used that. Most of the time I used the one from the stewards.

"The stool from the West Ham game was a one time thing, I just used it once and that was it. It should be on the bus, yes, but it's not with me personally."

'We will be ready'

Tottenham Hotspur v Slavia Prague (Tue, 20.00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs attacker Mohammed Kudus on what England can expect from his Ghana team:

"To qualify for the World Cup alone is a big statement from us and shows what we can do. There's still a bit of time to go so we just focus here for now then definitely we prepare for that - but it's good to have England in the group.

"It'll be interesting [to face England], I'm looking forward to it. We are pretty much aware of the side we will be facing. We will definitely be up for it and we will be ready."

'Slavia Prague are direct and physical'

Tottenham Hotspur v Slavia Prague (Tue, 20.00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs manager Thomas Frank on following the weekend win over Brentford: "It's always good to build momentum, to get more consistent performances. We will try to build on that tomorrow night, we have a good opportunity against a Slavia Prague side who are very direct and physical, man mark all over the pitch.

"That can particularly make it difficult for us. It is about us making sure we perform well, with forwardness and directness in attacking play."

'It's important to be honest'

Tottenham Hotspur v Slavia Prague (Tue, 20.00 GMT)

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs attacker Mohammed Kudus is alongside manager Thomas Frank and was asked about taking criticism from Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven:

"I think it's very important to be honest with each other and demand a lot from each other. It was a moment in the game where emotions are everywhere. Definitely they demand a lot from not just me but the whole team. It's part of the game. I just get on with it and kept playing."

Spurs investigate Bissouma nitrous oxide claim

Tottenham Hotspur

"We are looking into the events and it will be dealt with as an internal matter," a Spurs club spokesperson told BBC Sport.

Bissouma, a £30m signing from Brighton in 2022, was banned for one game by Spurs after being pictured inhaling nitrous oxide in 2023.

Possession of nitrous oxide for recreational use has been a criminal offence in the UK since 2023 and can result in a two-year prison sentence.

Bissouma, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has not played since Thomas Frank was appointed manager in June.

He was left out of the squad for the Uefa Super Cup game against Paris St-Germain in August because of persistent lateness, and has struggled with ankle and knee injuries this season.

Next up for Spurs - Champions League

Tottenham Hotspur

Three games stand between Tottenham Hotspur and qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League. Fortunately for manager Thomas Frank, all three are winnable on paper.

Spurs sit 16th in the table, two points behind Sporting in eighth place, which is where they'll need to be at minimum come the end of January if they want to advance to the knockout stage without the faff of a play-off, first.

Their league stage push continues on Tuesday at home to Slavia Prague.

The weakest of Spurs' remaining Champions League opponents, Prague are winless in the league phase and haven't scored a goal in European competition since September, when they drew 2-2 with Bodo Glimt.

In January, Spurs host a more prolific Borussia Dortmund side, who are the second best league phase scorers after top-scoring Paris St Germain, who boosted their stats with their 5-3 win over Spurs last month.

Then Spurs will be looking to claim their first away Champions League win of the season in Germany, finishing off their league phase with a visit to Eintracht Frankfurt, who are likely to be battling for their play-off spot for the knockout round.

Frank coming up...

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank will be talking to the media shortly before his side's Champions League game against Slavia Prague.

We'll be bringing you all the quotes right here plus any updates on squad injuries and absences.

Earlier, there were reports that Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson haven't trained.

James Maddison was also spotted on the grass but he's not expected to return to action for some time yet.

Frank will likely be asked for an update on that trio, probed on Xavi Simons - while the claim that Yves Bissouma has been filmed inhaling nitrous oxide will also be a topic of discussion.

ICYMI: Salah not expected to travel to Milan

Ian Dennis

BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter

I couldn’t envisage Mo Salah travelling to Milan after his outburst on Saturday evening but then did wonder after seeing him involved in training earlier today.

However, he’s NOT expected to travel.

Liverpool normally publish their travelling party for European away matches so we await confirmation.

Arne Slot is due to hold a media conference at 18:45 GMT in Milan where one subject will be the sole focus as we get to hear his thoughts for the first time since Saturday night.

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Ben Ramsdale

BBC Sport

That's about all we can squeeze out of Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot chat for now, I reckon.

Genuinely could have done a live page solely on your texts alone today because there have been SO many. So, thank you again.

But unless something drastic happens, we'll park it for now.

A recap is coming your way of all the best bits for you to reflect on if you've missed anything and then we've got to switch gears to Spurs and Thomas Frank.

The Tottenham boss is speaking to the media shortly to preview Tuesday evening's Champions League match with Slavia Prague.

Full quotes will be coming your way on this page imminently...

'Damage has been done'

Thomas Hitzlsperger

Former Germany midfielder on BBC MOTD

I think it was a little bit calculated but more his emotion. I think what he said was wrong and damage has been done.

What they should do is sit down and speak to each other because it is not over yet.

They all need to get together and say we can get this right. Damage has been done but I still think there is time to get it right but they have to do it quickly.

'It feels like a power play'

Stephen Kelly

Former Tottenham defender on BBC 5 Live

It kind of feels like a power play.

Either [Mohamed Salah] wants to go and he feels this is the way to get it - which is a strange situation - or else he's just completely self-centred, which I think may be the case.

Strikers have to have a bit of selfishness about them. On the pitch, when it works, it's fine - you're scoring goals.

But he said he's been thrown under the bus - if anything, he's thrown the team under the bus. His comments have caused carnage in what what is already a really tough situation for Liverpool.

There's a lot going on behind the scenes at Liverpool, it's hard to understand what is going on in that camp.

For one of your star players not only to be failing to perform on the pitch but to be saying things like this off the pitch - it's really hard to reconcile. I'm not sure how to get back from this.

'We're just seeing the Salah that has always been there - one that thinks about himself'

Jay Bothroyd

Former Premier League striker on BBC 5 Live Breakfast

Everyone wants to play football. But the way he's carried himself - you can criticise that.

To me that wasn't good, that was exactly what I always thought about Mo Salah, to be perfectly honest. He is a player that's all about him. Selfish. But when you're scoring the goals, no one questions that.

When you're performing, no one questions your attitude. You can pretty much do what you want.

But now the goals have dried up and he's not performing well, we're just seeing the Salah that has always been there - one that thinks about himself.

It's a poor time to say what you're going to say.

Liverpool have rewarded him with a two- year contract - I call that a retirement contract, a 'thank you for what you've done' - and now, he's taking liberties with it. It's sad to see. He can ruin his legacy because of it.

Has Thomas Frank found the missing piece to his puzzle in one of our youngest stars?

As much as I remain a big fan of Joao Palhinha, and while his partnership with Rodrigo Bentancur initially added a robustness to our defensive play in the first few games of the season, there was clearly an issue regarding how they linked with our attacking midfielders.

Enter Archie Gray.

After spending much of his debut season at Spurs playing out of position due to an unprecedented injury crisis, the Leeds academy product is finally being given an opportunity to flourish in his preferred role as a central midfielder.

Gray's statistics from Saturday's much-needed home win against Frank's former side Brentford were impressive.

Completing 31 out of the 33 passes he made, Gray was the most accurate passer on the pitch out of those who played 45 minutes or more. Significantly, five of his passes were directed into the final third.

The teenager did not neglect his defensive duties either – making two tackles, one interception, two recoveries and four clearances. No Brentford player succeeded in dribbling past Gray for the entire game.

These statistics show that, not only is Gray shining in his preferred position, but the combination of his astute reading of the game, competent defensive positioning, and confident forward play is all enabling his more attacking team-mates to sparkle. That fact was noted by Frank in his post-match interview.

In contrast, after losing possession six times, failing to complete any of his own dribbles, and being dribbled past on one occasion, Bentancur was swapped for Palhinha after 65 minutes.

So, the next decision for Frank is not if Gray should be in his starting XI, but rather what is the best supporting cast to perform alongside him?