Tottenham Hotspur

We can now confirm the starting XI and substitutes for this afternoon's Premier League encounter against Nottingham Forest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (2.15pm UK).

Igor Tudor has made three changes to the side that started Wednesday night's 3-2 home win over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Richarlison and Dominic Solanke return in attack having missed the Atleti second leg through suspension and injury respectively, with Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani amongst our substitutes. The final swap sees Kevin Danso come in for Radu Dragusin in our backline.

Joao Palhinha is back in the matchday squad with a place on the bench after missing the last two games with injury alongside Souza who was ineligible in midweek.

Here’s our team in full...

Starting XI: Vicario, Danso, Richarlison, Tel, Gray, Romero (c), Solanke, Pedro Porro, Spence, Sarr, van de Ven.

Substitutes: Kinsky, Dragusin, Palhinha, Xavi, Udogie, Bergvall, Gallagher, Souza, Kolo Muani.

Our Women’s Under-16s are Professional Game Academy champions after a 1-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday!

Putting in a resolute performance at the back throughout the second period, a first-half strike proved to be enough to secure the trophy for our Academy for the first time – claiming silverware for a second time in as many seasons – on a special day for Stella Calderhead’s side.

While we were indebted to a big save followed by a goal-line clearance early on, we broke the deadlock midway through the first period as a free-kick on the far left was inch-perfect and volleyed home from close range.

We had opportunities to double our advantage in the remaining stages of the first period, while Leicester continued to pose a number of threats, but we headed into the break with a one-goal advantage.

The second period saw the Foxes up the tempo as they pushed for an equaliser with a number of key saves needed to maintain our one-goal advantage. But following a resilient, defensive display, it was celebration time for our players at Wheatsheaf Stadium as we lifted the trophy.

Teddy Sheringham will always remember the first time he bumped into legendary Forest manager, Brian Clough.

It was in the summer of 1991, Teddy had just signed for Forest after scoring 111 goals in 262 appearances for Millwall...

'Only my mum calls me Edward'

Teddy: "I walked into the City Ground with my agent, and you could hear Cloughie shouting, coming down the corridor, and all the apprentices were running everywhere and I thought, 'what's going on?' Little did I know that if he'd have got hold of one of them, he'd have given them his keys to go and wash his car, or a lead to go and walk his dog or something like that! So, as he came round the corner, he walked into me, and he went, 'ah, this is our new signing from London, is it? Edward Sheringham' and I said, 'Mr Clough, please don't call me Edward, only my mum calls me Edward'. And he went, 'welcome to Nottingham, Edward'. I walked off, and it was like, 'okay, so that's how it's going to be'. He was just letting me know that he was the boss."

"I loved it at Forest, absolutely loved it'

Teddy: "It wasn't just the football - living in Nottingham, first time away from home. There was, out of about 20 of us, about 12, 14 single lads and we used to be out twice a week, enjoying the city. We played great football as well alongside Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, a young Roy Keane, Nigel Clough, Ian Woan, a young Scotty Gemmill, a top player, 'Norman' – Mark Crossley, a young Gary Charles, who was brilliant as well. Cloughie, the main man, just telling us, 'go out there and enjoy yourself, pass the ball to your mate and help your mate'. So many people ask me about Cloughie - simplicity. Get the ball, play the way you’re facing, help your mate, go and get it again."

The goal that kick-started a golden season...

Teddy created history when he fired Forest to victory against Liverpool in August, 1992 - the first of a double first that season. It was the first live televised game of the Premier League era - 16 August, 1992 - and therefore Teddy forever holds the distinction of being the scorer of the Premier League's first televised goal. It was a goal worthy of the occasion, as well, as Teddy arrowed into the top corner past David James. The firsts didn't end there. Within a week, Teddy had joined Spurs, and at the end of the Premier League's inaugural season, he won the Golden Boot with a further 21 goals in Lilywhite added to that winner against the Reds for his 22 - the Premier League's first Golden Boot winner!

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation is celebrating 20 years of delivering Premier League Kicks, with participant turned coach Demani Dos Santos named our Premier League Community Captain.

Demani is one of 26,000 young people estimated to have taken part in our community football sessions since they launched in 2006. Designed to build safer, stronger communities, Spurs was one of four clubs to pilot Premier League Kicks, an initiative now delivered by 93 clubs nationwide.

After first attending sessions as a 10-year-old on the Ferry Lane estate in Haringey, Demani has progressed through the programme from volunteer to apprentice, part-time coach and now full-time project lead.

“Premier League Kicks transformed my life and creating opportunities for others to have the same experience is what drives me every day,” he said.

Foundation sessions have expanded from Ferry Lane across north London and, on Thursday, at a girls’ session Demani runs in Enfield, the 27-year-old was surprised by Ledley King with the news he had been chosen as our Community Captain for 2025/26.

Demani said: “I'm very proud to be named the Club's Community Captain – and to receive the award from a Spurs legend in Ledley – I'm a little speechless! If it wasn't for Premier League Kicks and the impact it's had on me personally from a young age, I wouldn't be where I am today.”

Ledley, who helped launch Premier League Kicks alongside Prime Minister of the time Tony Blair, said: “Demani’s journey is testament to the incredible impact the Foundation’s delivery of Premier League Kicks has had on young people’s lives. From his beginnings as a participant to now leading sessions and inspiring others, he’s a true example of the power of football to create change. We’re proud to have him as our Community Captain and his story reminds us all of the importance of opportunity, community and giving back.”

Demani’s recognition comes as part of the Premier League’s More Than A Game campaign and he represented the Foundation at a reception hosted by current Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier this week.

Reflecting on his experience, Demani said: “It’s been an amazing journey with the Foundation. From participant to coach, I like to call it a home from home, like another family.

“Growing up on an estate was mixed vibes. There were good days and bad days, but Premier League Kicks was everyone just playing football, no matter where they were from, who they were, how good they were.

“I’ve experienced first-hand that just one opportunity, no matter how big or small, could change someone’s life. I now like to share my story with young people, so they understand where I’ve come from and that I’m not someone just paid to be here – I’ve been in their shoes and I want to help change their lives as my life’s been changed.”

Participant Alannah said: “Demani’s a great coach because he encourages us to be ourselves and he’s helped me a lot in building my confidence."

Omari Chambers-Alert, a long-time Foundation coach who has witnessed Demani’s journey, said: “Premier League Kicks has helped countless young people, including Demani, to have a platform to express themselves, give back to the community and be great members of society.

“Demani’s a role model to our participants today because he’ll go above and beyond to make sure they feel special, wanted and have a sense of belonging to something.

“He understands because he’s been through the pathway, so when he delivers a session you can see it’s centred around that. He wants to reward them for being part of the session, but also for just being who they are.”

For more information about the Foundation’s Premier League Kicks sessions, click here.

Three second-half goals gave our hard-working Under-18s maximum points at Leicester City on Saturday.

Having battled through a tough first half, our patience paid off when captain Tye Hall managed to find the net from a congested area of the pitch 11 minutes after the restart and from there we pushed on to win comfortably, Malachi Hardy heading home his first goal of the season after a short corner routine before Reiss Elliott-Parris added a third from the penalty spot.

The 3-0 victory yielded our 10th clean sheet of the season in the Under-18 Premier League and stretched our unbeaten run in the division into an 11th game. Chelsea’s late turnaround at home to Reading, though, meant it’s as you were at the top, as we head into the international break four points ahead of the Blues having played two games more.

Miracle Adewole fired wide at the back post while Elliott-Parris’ effort was blocked after a Jamel Beggs break-away as we squandered a couple of early opportunities at the Foxes’ training ground, but the after-effects of a taxing battle with our title rivals in midweek perhaps showed in parts of the first period as we struggled to take control of the game and found ourselves on the receiving end of a handful of Leicester attempts in the run-up to half-time, Alpha Diallo’s header from a corner cleared off the line by Hall and Luqman Aideed’s angled drive from distance creeping wide before goalkeeper Dylan Thompson twice denied Joseph Colangelo-Allen with a pair of sharp saves.

We introduced George Feeney and Ronny Moncur into midfield at half-time and both helped us to take the upper hand in the contest, the latter involved in our first and third goals. The breakthrough came on 56 minutes when captain Hall exchanged passes with Moncur at the edge of the box while surrounded by Leicester bodies before planting a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Elliott-Parris had a penalty appeal waved away after racing onto Harry Byrne’s excellent long ball down the left while Adewole’s long-range strike was just touched over before we doubled our lead on the 70-minute mark, Hardy steering a precision header inside the far post from Byrne’s delivery in the wake of a short corner.

Thompson denied Leicester substitute Harry Jacklin at his near post while Oliver Boast couldn’t convert Adewole’s driven ball across goal in the middle of the box at the other end, but we made sure of the win 13 minutes from time when Elliott-Parris netted from the spot after a foul on Moncur, goalkeeper Leo Stretton diving the right way but unable to keep it out.

‘We looked in control in the second half’

Under-18s Coach Jamie Carr felt we were able to get more of a foothold in the game after the interval: “It was a tough game in the first half, Leicester were really competitive and we didn’t have as much control of the whole half as we’d have liked,” he reflected. “I think we started the first half well and probably finished it well, but there was a spell of maybe 20 minutes in that period where we struggled, but credit to the group, we managed to ride that out and go in at half-time at 0-0, and that allowed us to make some changes and freshen up the legs after a tough game on Tuesday.

“I think we looked in a lot of control in the second half – I don’t think there were too many chances for them, Dylan made one save but other than that, large spells of the game were in the middle third or their final third. There were lots of pleasing bits from that and also from the whole squad in terms of churning out a difficult week playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, to the point that they’ve managed to put themselves in a good position leading into the international break.”

We return to action at this level away to West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday 7 April (12pm UK).

We fell to a 5-2 defeat to Manchester City in the Barclays Women's Super League on Saturday afternoon.

Five first-half strikes from the hosts gave us a mountain to climb at the break despite Olivia Holdt having levelled the game at 1-1 with 15 minutes played.

Kadija Shaw had opened the scoring on eight minutes before going on to record a hat-trick by 21 minutes. Kerolin then added a fourth for the hosts on 37 minutes with Amanda Nilden unfortunately diverting Vivianne Miedema's header in for a fifth on the stroke of half-time.

We greatly improved in the second half and managed to reduce the arrears late on through Bethany England but the mountain proved too hard a climb as we fell to a second successive defeat.

More to follow...

"The outstanding Atletico win and resolute draw at Liverpool points to a Spurs team turning a corner – so how can some of the young stars hurt Nottingham Forest today?"

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Awesome Archie

It was a heartwarming moment when Archie Gray, walking around the edge of the pitch after his second half substitution, was picked out by Atletico midfielder Marcos Llorente, who jogged over for a handshake and embrace. This unprompted gesture of respect was to acknowledge just how good the 20-year-old been in the second leg - a sentiment echoed by a standing ovation. Gray’s running, dribbling, close control, choice of pass and timing of tackle were all spot on – with Igor Tudor keen to stress midfield is his best position. “He’s playing continually in the right way, in a good way. It's a mix of quality, physically and mentally, to always make the right choices and be humble and have (the) legs to do so.”

Fluid formation

Spurs’ cohesion, work rate and chance creation, to give Atleti a fright, was extremely promising for the Premier League run-in. Tactically, Spurs often looked like a 4-4-2 with Pedro Porro playing right-wing and Radu Dragusin behind him. But given the starting line-up, sometimes Porro and Djed Spence operated as wingbacks, with many expecting 3-4-3 given the line-up named. Regardless, the formation was fluid and effective, as Spurs ran and pressed to force Atletico into rash decisions.

Bite in attack

Igor Tudor’s side had 18 shots, 11 on target, and could have scored more than three. Randal Kolo Muani got a fine header, created by Mathys Tel, who was tireless in making things happen, while Xavi Simons scored twice including his curler from range. “I think Xavi was very good, happy for him, showed the talent… it was not easy to play there in the middle, where it's always difficult,” explained Tudor. It was certainly encouraging for Spurs in an attacking sense too given that Dominic Solanke and Richarlison, so key at Anfield, were unavailable for Atletico.

What issues are Forest having?

Nottingham Forest are a team packed with talent; one expected to line up 4-2-3-1 with Elliot Anderson and Ibrahim Sangaré in midfield. Morgan Gibbs-White will likely play in one of three attacking midfield positions, centre-backs Murillo and Nikola Milenković should start, flanked by full-backs Neco Williams and Ola Aina with the explosive Callum Hudson-Odoi out wide. On the road lately they’ve picked up good results, like the 2-2 comeback draw against Man City and 3-0 victory at Fenerbahçe, and their two league wins in 2026 have come away (West Ham, Brentford). But at home, it’s no win in seven league matches – having failed to score in four of the last five at the City Ground too, after last week’s 0-0 with Fulham.

Goalscoring woes

The lack of goals has been a real issue home and away for Forest, drawing blanks in 14 of their 30 league games this season. Only Wolves have scored fewer than Forest - a situation exacerbated by Chris Wood’s absence through injury, while fellow striker Igor Jesus has just two league goals. However, given the impact subs had against Fulham, Forest could reshape their attack. Dan Ndoye came on at half-time and two marginal offside decisions denied him a penalty (after being fouled by Calvin Bassey in the box) and a goal. Omari Hutchinson was thrown on at the break too, while striker Taiwo Awoniyi will push to start after a good cameo. “We needed to refresh the team to put more energy in,” explained Periera afterwards. “They are players who are strong one-on-one. Dan Ndoye is fast in the space and Taiwo was fantastic. This is the spirit I want to see in my players."

Maika Hamano and Toko Koga are 2026 Asian Cup champions.

In the final in Sydney on Saturday, Japan defeated host nation Australia 1-0 thanks to a stunning effort from our Maika.

Our number 23 started the showpiece at Stadium Australia and produced the moment of magic which separated the two sides, turning fantastically on the edge of the area before producing a dipping effort to beat Mackenzie Arnold on 17 minutes.

The forward played 76 minutes of the final while defender Toko played the full 90 minutes as Japan held off Australia in the final stages to claim the title.

It is the third time in the last four editions of the tournament that Japan have claimed the crown, having also taken victory in 2014 and 2018 before a third-place finish in 2022.

It was disappointment though for Clare Hunt and Australia, with Clare an unused substitute in the final.

Ahead of our Barclays Women's Super League encounter with Manchester City which kicks off at 12noon today (Saturday), Head Coach Martin Ho expressed his delight for Maika after her winning goal.

"It's a wonderful moment for Maika," Martin beamed. "She works extremely hard, she's a wonderful person and a super talented footballer. I'm delighted for her. She's got the winning goal today. Credit to her and well done to Japan. We'll make sure that we support obviously Maika, Toko and Clare when they come back."

Alfie Devine scored twice to inspire Preston North End to a 3-1 home win over Stoke City on Friday night.

The on-loan 21-year-old burst forward from inside his own half to latch onto Andrew Moran’s pass from deep after a quarter-of-an-hour and cancel out Sorba Thomas’ opener for the visitors.

He then completed the scoring on the hour mark when he coolly chipped goalkeeper Tommy Simkin, shortly after Milutin Osmajic had given the hosts the advantage.

Alfie completed the full 90 minutes, with fellow Spurs loanee Ashley Phillips doing likewise in defence for the Potters.

The brace took him to eight goals for the campaign, with the result ending Preston’s seven-game winless run in the Championship, the home side leapfrogging their opponents into the top half of the table.

We can now confirm the starting XI and substitutes for our Women’s Super League clash with Manchester City (12noon UK time).

Martin Ho has made three changes to the side that started last Sunday’s WSL defeat to Everton.

Amanda Nilden, who missed the clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend due to suspension, returns to the backline in place of Josefine Rybrink, who takes a place amongst our substitutes.

Drew Spence also returns to start while Bethany England comes into the side, with Eveliina Summanen and Lenna Gunning-Williams named on the substitute’s’ bench this afternoon.

Starting XI: Kop, Bartrip, A. Nilden, Gaupset, England (c), Holdt, Vinberg, Tandberg, Wijk, Spence, Blakstad.

Substitutes: Heeps, Jackson, Grant, Rybrink, M. Nilden, Gunning-Williams, Ahtinen, Summanen, Dennis.