Tottenham Hotspur

Martin Ho has named an unchanged starting XI which started in our opening-day 3-1 victory over West Ham United last time out.

Caitlin Dijkstra continues in the backline after her impressive debut last weekend at Brisbane Road, while Toko Koga is fit and available to start from the off despite being substituted in the London derby.

Forward Kirsty Hanson will also be looking to build on her excellent start to life at Spurs after her double in the win over the Hammers.

Starting XI: Kop, Dijkstra, A. Nilden, Gaupset, Tandberg, Vinberg, Hanson, Spence (c), Summanen, Koga, Blakstad.

Substitutes: Panengstuen, Morris, Holdt, M. Nilden, Martinez, Ahtinen, Wijk, Pelova, Pierre.

Here's how Liverpool line-up...

Starting XI: Keating, Fisk (c), Ramos, Kapocs, Nagano, Endemann, Olsson, Clark, Holland, Kerr, Bernabe.

Substitutes: Laws, Haug, Enderby, Hobingerm Woodham, Agrez, Bergstrom, Csillag, Trueman.

Here's what he had to say...

You started with such a fast, strong tempo – why did that not translate into goals?

Roberto: "I am honest, I am always honest with you because when we play bad, I say we played very bad but when I come in press conference, 99 per cent I am honest, like with the players and like with the club. I said we started this season late in many, many reasons and too late, many players at the World Cup, many injuries, many problems in Australia - Mateus Fernandes, Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke and for not our responsibility or our club responsibility. We bought two players late, Savio and Marmoush, and I started to work with this group not last Thursday, two Thursdays ago. So, I think we have not the right physical condition, yet. I think we played very well the first 30 minutes and then maybe the energy, maybe the fact we didn’t score, maybe we lost in some players a little confidence. We have to be not positive, but realistic. If we extend that part of the game 30 minutes to 60, 70, 80 and 90, in my opinion, for my belief, we are going to win many games. We have to improve in the last third of the pitch, for sure. The last decision, the last pass. We have to shoot more times especially when we have space and time to do, we have to do with the right spirit, but I can’t say nothing bad, because I know how the players are working, I think we are in the right way. It’s tough to explain, because four games without goals is tough to accept. We are sorry for the fans, but the fans, they went behind the players. When the players in the first 30 minutes, they played very well, it was a hot, hot stadium and then everyone like me, like every fan inside of Tottenham or the people inside of the club, we were sad because 75 times in the goal area and not shoot enough to explain the quality of the play we did. Also in the second half. I watch many, many games where the winning team created less than us in the second half. What is the problem? The problem is the goal and the most important problem is the players have to be focused on the first 30 minutes and the improvements we can do and we have to do - not about social media, not about the journalist because today if we had won, now we stay in different way, with smile, great first half, great spirit in the second half and great, great, great but the result changes the opinion, in my opinion, no? Because I am a coach and not a journalist or a fan."

At the full time whistle you went over to Tel, it looked like you were coaching him, what did you say?

Roberto: "Yes, I coached him on the pitch. What did you understand?"

I was trying to work it out...

Roberto: "The body shape. He is a striker and the striker can play with the shoulder on the goal. If we are playing with Maddison, Kudus and Savio, he has to play as a striker and the striker has to look at the goal or the cross from Robertson. He has to stay inside because he started as a striker eh? Now he is playing as a winger, but he started his career as a striker, but I love Mathys as a player, as a guy and there is not a problem."

You talk about the confidence of the players being an issue - how much is the fact that they haven’t scored playing on their minds?

Roberto: "I think there is a word in Italian that literally translates as if we 'unblock' ourselves. I think the team is extremely strong and we can score goals, and we can win games. Then we have to respect the history of the players in their careers. Forget Solanke or Marmoush. The other players, they didn't score many, many goals in their career and we have to find these goals. I think we can find the goals with the quality of the play, with the full-backs, because we have great full-backs. Robertson today played very well. I don't know if we believe on the cross and we prepared the game exactly in that way."

When you say 'unblock' ourselves in Italian, do you mean a mental block?

Roberto: "A mental block, because four games, no wins, any goals scored. It is tough also for the players because they are human and they are very good guys, and I asked them to follow me because if last season I was positive, I can't understand why I cannot be the same this season. In Italy, for example, now I should be the best coach, no? Two games, two clean sheets. Two clean sheets? Tomorrow, what will you write? Clean sheets or no goals? Explain to me what you want. I'm right, I guess."

You said you're late, but you're very late now. It's five games in, so I guess some people will say it sounds a bit like excuses - pre-season, World Cup, new signings - as other clubs have the same thing...

Roberto: "First of all, four games, not five, after Aston Villa it will be five games."

You played in the cup as well...

Roberto: "But yes, 5-1 and we scored five goals against Charlton. We won by scoring five goals. So we speak about the Premier League, it's four games. I think the people and the fans, I think they already understood if I take an excuse or not. I came last season when the was like this, you know? I've always been, not positive, but realistic. Now I explained, I'm sorry for the results, but it's not immediate, no? Not the improvement, not immediately to make a team. Today we played as a team. We didn't score, we didn't win, but today and Nottingham I think we played as a team. I can't say nothing as an attitude, as a behaviour of the players, no. I said to stay calm, maybe to not lose the confidence because we are not scoring, we are not winning. Stay calm, improve, work hard and individually try to understand where is the improvement, no? I spoke with Mathys Tel just at the end of the game to explain what was his position today."

How far away are Tottenham from being at their best, physically?

Roberto: "I don't know. Now we play Tuesday in Liverpool and we play with all other players, but it will be a very important game for us. We can improve playing in the games, we can improve during the week. I think Rodrigo Bentancur, he came late after the World Cup and he's crucial for us. I didn't want to change him today, but I thought maybe he finished his energy in that moment of the game. Sandro Tonari, for example, played better in the second half. Robertson, JP van Hecke, they stayed directly for the first period of the pre-season. Micky van de Ven suffered an injury in Australia. Domi Solanke, the same. Maddison, the same. Savio and Marmoush, they came 10 days ago. Mateus Fernandes suffered an injury in Australia. He lost 15 days and it's not so quick."

We made an electric start but couldn’t capitalise on openings and half-chances and although we finished with 14 efforts at goal, we only seriously tested Jordan Pickford once in the Everton goal, a fine save low down to his left to turn away Lucas Bergvall’s shot from 20 yards in the second half.

Speaking to us on SPURSPLAY afterwards, Roberto reflected: “We are sorry for the result. We are sorry because the target was to play 90 minutes like the first 30 minutes, but we are not in the best physical condition yet.

“Then, we didn't shoot and we didn't create enough chances for the quality of the play, the command of the game we had on the pitch. We could shoot more times for goal. We made many wrong decisions in the last third and we have to stay more focused, more calm, I think, and improve where we have a gap to improve.

“It's the confidence now because we didn't score. Maybe some players could think in a negative way, but I think no, because we have to be focused on the performance, and the performance said we played 30 minutes very well. We have to extend the 30 minutes in 90, 80, 70 and to play like this. Then, if we keep the same quality of the play and if we improve the last decision, individual decision, collective decision, but more individual, I think we're going to win many, many games.”

It means we have yet to score in the competition after four games of the campaign but did pick up another point from a game of few clear-cut chances at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with just five shots on target across the whole contest.

The opening 10 minutes were played almost exclusively in Everton’s half as we made a fantastic start, but failed to take any of the big chances we created. Five minutes in, Andy Robertson clipped a free-kick to the back post which Jan Paul van Hecke half-volleyed over the crossbar – it would prove to be one of our best chances of the game – before Mateus Fernandes saw a shot well blocked by Jarrad Branthwaite with Archie Gray also seeing one from distance blocked. Fernandes was then in again, picked out with a lovely pass but the midfielder seemed to lose his footing before the chance disappeared.

Having not taken our opportunities, we allowed the visitors to grow into the game and, after Ainsley Maitland-Niles drilled wide from distance, Everton had a spell of possession in and around our box although Antonin Kinsky wasn’t unduly troubled. The remainder of the half was fairly even although we had the better attacking moments without making the most of them, Robertson’s excellent overlap picked out by Omar Marmoush, only for the final ball to be cut out by Pickford an example. The only shot on target in the first period came two minutes into stoppage time and it went the way of the Toffees, James Garner’s arrowed low free-kick to the back post well pushed away by Kinsky as we went in goalless at the break.

Having been the better team at the start of the game, it was our visitors who opened the second half on top and we were fortunate not to concede when Thierno Barry got on the end of Tyrique George’s cross to the far post and only Kinsky’s face prevented the ball from going in. Rodrigo Bentancur was then in the right place to block George’s fierce shot from a cleared corner with 54 minutes on the clock.

Just after the hour we made a triple change with Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Lucas Bergvall replacing Fernandes, Dominic Solanke and Bentancur but almost conceded immediately. Kinsky’s pass out to Tonali was intercepted by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall just 20 yards out although, to be fair to the Czech goalkeeper, he was quickly off his line to smother the Everton player’s shot.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, there was real tension in the air with the contest so finely poised, the feeling inside the stadium that just one goal would probably win the match. It almost fell Everton’s way in the 75th minute, Dewsbury-Hall with the perfect cut-back to Brennan Johnon but the former Spur side-footed well over the bar.

We searched for a winner in the final stages, Tonali looking like a chance had opened up for him 20 yards out only for his shot to be blocked before Gray headed a Savio cross over the bar with four minutes left. Pickford then made a superb save, diving low to his left to tip away Bergvall’s 25-yard effort, just our second shot on target in the game, and the last opportunity as the final whistle sounded soon after.

One note to make was the late introduction of Tosin Adarabioyo, who replaced Gray for his debut following his arrival from Chelsea on deadline day last week.

Line-ups

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky, Gray (Tosin 85), van Hecke, van de Ven (c), Robertson, Tonali, Bentancur (Bergvall 63), Savio, Fernandes (Kudus 63), Marmoush (Maddison 77), Solanke (Tel 63). Substitutes (not used): Dubravka, Senesi, Davies, Gallagher.

Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford, Maitland-Niles (O'Brien 75), Tarkowski (c), Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Garner, Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Johnson (Hackney 75), George (Grealish 65), Barry. Substitutes (not used): Travers, King, Keane, Dibling, Alcaraz, Graham.

Match data

Yellow cards: Everton – Dewsbury-Hall, Garner.

Referee: Darren England.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Light cloud, moderate breeze, 21 degrees.

Attendance: 60,477.

Roberto De Zerbi makes four changes to the team that started at Nottingham Forest last weekend with Dominic Solanke coming in for his first league start of the season, joining Andy Robertson, Mateus Fernandes and Archie Gray who come in from the off.

Mathys Tel moves to the bench which also features a returning James Maddison, Ben Davies and a maiden involvement for deadline day signing Tosin Adarabioyo.

Here’s the team in full…

Starting XI: Kinsky, Robertson, van Hecke, Gray, Tonali, Savio, Fernandes, Solanke, Marmoush, Bentancur, van de Ven (c).

Substitutes: Dubravka, Tosin, Senesi, Gallagher, Maddison, Tel, Bergvall, Kudus, Davies.

The visitors line-up as follows...

Starting XI: Pickford, Maitland-Niles, Branthwaite, Tarkowski (c), Dewsbury-Hall, Barry, Mykolenko, George, Johnson, Garner, Armstrong.

Next up, we're back in Tottenham for a 5.30pm Premier League clash against Everton on Saturday - David Moyes' side on the back of a thrilling 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend...

Harrison Armstrong

A box-to-box midfielder with 57 senior appearances under his belt already at the age of 19, Armstrong made his mark for Everton in the second half of last season after being recalled from a loan spell at Preston. Standing just over 6ft tall, he also has a physical presence for his age. He played 17 times for the Toffees in the Premier League last term and was named the club's Young Player of the Season. Capped by England at youth level.

Jack Grealish

Classic 'old-fashioned' winger who needs little introduction, Grealish burst onto the scene at Villa before a high-profile move to City in 2021. He won the lot at City, including the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2022/23 - he made 50 appearances that season. Usually playing off the left, Grealish has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, always willing to take his man on, can turn both ways and has the strength to bounce off tackles - a bit like Gazza, or Mousa Dembele, he will almost welcome that contact to get away from opponents. He has 63 goal involvements in 212 PL appearances, capped 39 times by England.

Hayden Hackney

Still only 24, but approaching 200 senior career appearances, Hackney came through Middlesbrough's youth system, eventually playing over 150 times for the Championship club. His performances stepped up in the last two seasons where he's been a model of consistency - 85 appearances, 11 goals - earning him the Championship's Player of the Season award for 2025/26. A trademark David Moyes purchase out of the Championship (think Cahill, Jagielka, Lescott and Bowen down the years), Hackney adds poise and physicality alongside Armstrong in the central areas, great on the ball from the base of midfield, making Everton tick. Capped by England Under-21s.

Who should face the Toffees? Play our Selector!

Tottenham Hotspur versus Everton is a special fixture for Darren Caskey.

Back on 3 October, 1993, the Toffees provided the opposition as the Basildon-born midfielder, who had previously made seven substitute appearances for us, started in a senior competitive match for the first time. This memorable occasion was capped by Caskey scoring a stoppage-time winner at the end of the 90 minutes as we triumphed 3-2 in a Premier League match.

That 1993/94 season was a fine breakthrough one for Caskey, who scored five goals in 32 appearances in all competitions, aged just 19 at the time. But in nearly two full seasons thereafter, he would feature in just 11 more matches for us. Loaned to Watford for a few months in 1995, the midfielder moved to Reading on a permanent deal in February 1996. He also turned out for the likes of Notts County, Bristol City, Peterborough United and the now-defunct Rushden & Diamonds before embarking on coaching roles at Ilkeston Town, Gateshead, Wrexham and York City.

Casting your mind back nearly 33 years to your first Spurs start against Everton. What memories do you have from that day?

Darren: "I found out the previous day that I’d be starting. I was over the moon to be making my full debut… there were some nerves as well. But once the game started, it was crazy, all those nerves went and it was just like playing a ‘normal’ game of football. You just got on with the game."

Can you describe your winning goal?

Darren: "We were 2-1 down quite late on in the game. I think Darren Anderton got a goal back for us to make it 2-2. We were all thinking it was going to end that way. But we broke away again, down the left-hand side. I remember trying to catch up with play and I ended up in the situation where the ball arrived with me in the penalty area. I was about to blast it, but at the last second, I decided to side-foot it instead. There were a lot of Everton players on the line and I think I had an element of luck in that my shot just went in between them and into the far corner. If I’d have blasted it, there’s every chance it might have just hit someone on the line. Seeing it go in was obviously an incredible feeling. I think Everton kicked-off after the goal and then that was the end of the game!"

You must have been really pleased with your level of involvement in the first team during the 1993/94 season?

Darren: "Yes, it was what every young kid wants. You want to break into the team and then play regularly. Playing that number of games in my first season, I was probably thinking I was going to be at Spurs for my entire career. You tend to think like that when you’re young."

Who were the senior pros at the Club who helped you most in making the step up from our youth team into the first team?

Darren: "I was quite close to Teddy Sheringham. He was really good with me. We’d stay after training doing shooting practice, that kind of thing. There were some great pros at Spurs at the time… Gary Mabbutt was one. Everyone knows what a tremendous person he is. All the senior pros were great though. It was also nice breaking through into the team with players I knew from my two years at Lilleshall, Nick Barmby and Sol Campbell. We had a number of other youth team players break through and play for the first team… Jeff Minton, Kevin Watson, Andy Turner, Stuart Nethercott. It was good seeing that number of young players get their opportunity."

What was Ossie Ardiles like as a manager for you?

Darren: "Ossie was great for me. He obviously gave me my debut. He was a manager who let you go out and express yourself. It’s fair to say he put a bit more emphasis on the attacking side of things rather than defensively, hence we’d have 3-2 games, 4-3 games etc!"

Going back to the start of your Spurs career. How did you come to join us as a youngster?

Darren: "My story is similar to most young players. I was spotted playing for my local team in Romford… I can’t even remember the team name now! I was eight or nine when I was first invited to come up to Spurs to train once or twice a week in the ball court at White Hart Lane. When I was a bit older, at 13, I was invited to Lilleshall School of Excellence. I was still on Spurs’ books but when you go to Lilleshall, you’re there for two years. After that, I signed as an apprentice with Spurs at the age of 15 or 16. I was at Lilleshall with Nick and Sol. When we left there, Nick came and lived with me at my parents’ house in Essex and we’d travel up to Spurs together when we were first year apprentices. Myself, Nick and Sol all got into the first team relatively early on. We got our own independence then, Nick went and got his own house, so did I. You had to start growing up then!"

What were your experiences like playing for England at youth level?

Darren: "They were great times. I was captain of the Under-18s when we won the European Championships in 1993. I scored the winning goal – a penalty – in the final against Turkey at Nottingham Forest’s ground. I had captained another England age group at the European Championships and World Cup. And then, because of how my birthday fell, Ted Powell, who was managing the 18s at the time told me I was eligible to play in the Under-18s Euros and invited me to play at that tournament. And what an experience it was, going on to win it. We had an incredible team at the time with the Manchester United boys… Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Chris Casper etc. There was Robbie Fowler and Julian Joachim. And obviously myself, Sol and Chris Day from Spurs."

In the summer of 1994, what was it like discovering we’d signed Jürgen Klinsmann?

Darren: "It was incredible. Jürgen was a great guy as well as a phenomenal player. It was an exciting summer for us. We brought in a number of players who had done well at that summer’s World Cup… Ilie Dumitrescu and Gica Popescu, who were really good for Romania. Us young players had been watching those players on the TV, so it was exciting times for them to become our team-mates."

We got some memorable results in the FA Cup during the 1994/95 season, winning 4-1 at Sunderland in the fourth round, triumphing 6-2 after extra-time at Southampton in a fifth round replay and winning 2-1 at Liverpool in the quarter-finals before a painful 4-1 defeat to Everton in the semi-finals…

Darren: "That’s right. We got that amazing result at Anfield and you did start to dream that it could be your year with a win like that. We played Everton in the semi-finals as you say and I was hoping to be involved in that one. But (then-manager) Gerry Francis chose to play Stuart Nethercott instead and I didn’t get on the bench either. It was disappointing to miss out on such a big occasion and it ended up being a hard day with the result."

What were the reasons behind your departure from Spurs in February, 1996?

Darren: "One of my last games for Spurs came in a 4-1 win over Manchester United (1 January, 1996) when I started in midfield alongside Sol as we had injury problems at the time, so I was brought into the starting XI and Sol played out of position. After that game, when our players were back from injury, I was dropped straight away, so I went to see Gerry. He actually offered me a contract to stay at Spurs. But, in the same breath, he was honest with me and said when his senior internationals were all fit and available, I was likely to be on the bench. I appreciated Gerry’s honesty and it was around that time that I decided I needed to move on. I really got the taste for playing in my first season in the first team. I just wanted to play more and more. But the following season was difficult for me in terms of the lack of starts and the same the season after. I started to get a bit frustrated then and eventually I left Spurs. I look back in hindsight and think maybe I should have stayed. I remember Darren Anderton having injury problems in the first season I’d left the Club (1996/97) and I think if I’d stayed, maybe I could have played more often. You never know though do you? I had to make a decision at the time and I wanted to be starting matches, it was as simple as that. I look back so fondly on my time at Spurs, from the age of nine all the way up to 22, when I left."

Fast forwarding in your career, what have you been up to since retiring from playing?

Darren: "I went into coaching after my playing days were over. I worked under Gary Mills, the ex-Nottingham Forest player, at Gateshead, then Wrexham and then York. We won the FA Trophy at York. I still live in North Yorkshire. I run a leisure park called Stonebridge Lakes nowadays. We’ve got fishing lakes, a caravan park, log cabins. I’ve got a 16-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy, so she needs quite a lot of care. So, it works well for me to be here on the leisure park site to run a business and also be here to look after my daughter and be with my family."

And we understand you continue to follow Spurs?

Darren: "Yes indeed! I went to the Forest away game last weekend. I went to a few games last season, including going to the new stadium for the first time for the game against Burnley on the opening weekend of the season. The stadium was amazing. It’s quite incredible seeing it on the site of the old White Hart Lane. It’s certainly a bit different to the ground I knew when I was a player!"

Choose your XI - play our Selector!

SPURSPLAY

Jamie Carr’s side have been in blistering form in front of goal so far in 2026/27, scoring 24 goals in four Under-18 Premier League game to rocket to the top of the fledgling standings.

We’re the only team in the division to have won all of our games so far, but we now go to Motspur Park for what is always a big test against our London rivals.

The Cottagers, for their part, have won three and drawn one of their four league games to date, with an intriguing top-of-the-table clash in prospect.

As he continues to mould his squad together, Roberto is asking the team to raise their levels again as we move onto matchday four of the new Premier League season.

It goes without saying that it has been a slow start to the 2026/27 campaign for us as we continue to search for our first win, but our Head Coach is seeing progress in the group.

Now, with the Toffees making the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Italian wants his players to take the game to David Moyes' side from the off, demanding that they play with courage and show the passion, bravery and qualities they all possess to ignite the noise in N17.

"I would like to see my players playing with courage, with personality, with energy - what we are doing on the pitch on the training ground," he said as he spoke to the SPURSPLAY cameras on Friday.

"I would like the players start the game, the first 10 minutes, with energy to deserve the support of the fans, I can say I know this stadium, especially after last season, the last games with me in my time, they were fantastic in our stadium.

"And now, I think they are waiting for a signal from us. And for that, I would like to start the game with personality, with energy, with pressure, with qualities to bring them inside of the pitch."

Predict the score