Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Byrne’s clever free-kick secured victory for our Under-18s in a tough game at Ipswich Town on Saturday – a result that put our youngsters top of the league.

The 18-year-old left-footer added an additional layer of quality to our side on his return from injury as a half-time substitute and it was his innovative low set-piece around the home wall on the hour mark that ultimately proved the difference in Suffolk after Tye Hall’s cracking strike from distance was cancelled out by Sidney Eldred in the first period.

The league’s basement side caused us problems with some menacing deliveries into our box, particularly in the first 45 minutes, but they struggled to maintain their intensity after the break and we nearly grabbed a third when Oliver Boast’s close-range header from the impressive Joel Vidal-Philbert’s delivery went over the bar.

The 2-1 win – our eighth consecutive game unbeaten at this level – saw us move to the summit of the Under-18 Premier League, one point above Chelsea who don’t play until Tuesday. The Blues, however, now have three games in hand.

Skipper Hall fired us in front after a quarter-of-an-hour with a fine right-footed strike from 22 yards, goalkeeper Josh Bentley getting his fingertips to the ball but unable to keep it out. Eldred had a decent attempt for the hosts after shifting the ball onto his right foot and pulling the trigger but Dylan Thompson made a great save before his opposite number Bentley denied Boast with a right-footed, angled drive on 28 minutes.

We conceded an equaliser in disappointing fashion just after the half-hour mark after failing to clear our lines from a wide free-kick, a couple of Ipswich players seeing attempts blocked at the back post before the ball was knocked back into a crowded box and Eldred converted from close range. Captain Charlie Wood then had a chance to put his side in front – again getting on the end of a free-kick – but was denied by Thompson.

Boast had opportunities to restore our lead either side of the break, hitting the post with a header and then agonisingly unable to divert Ronny Moncur’s fierce delivery on target, but on 60 minutes we did finally get our noses back in front, Byrne – back in action after injuring his ankle in the UEFA Youth League defeat to Real Betis at the start of the month – intelligently curling a set-piece low around the wall so Bentley couldn’t see it until it was too late, the ball crashing in off the inside of the near post.

‘Second half was a lot more controlled’

Under-18s Coach Jamie Carr felt we improved in the second period, reflecting: “It was a really competitive game. Ipswich, particularly in the first half, made it really difficult for us with some spells where they dominated and we had to dig in and fight to make sure we defended our box, which we largely did for the whole game apart from their one goal, which we defended quite poorly – we had opportunities to clear it and didn’t manage to do so.

“One of the pleasing things in the second half was that we managed to defend our box better, but overall the second-half performance was a lot more controlled. We had a lot more of the ball and created some great moments. If we’re reflecting on the second-half performance, I was most pleased with our wingers – they managed to come up with the goods in terms of beating their man on the outside and delivering some good crosses.”

On match-winner Byrne’s goalscoring return to action, Jamie added: “It’s great to have Harry back, because we know his quality on set-plays and even from open play, where he put some great crosses in from short corners that arguably we should have scored from, so it’s great to have him back and around it ready for Wednesday.”

We host Crystal Palace in the semi-final of the Under-18 Premier League Cup in midweek.

We’re back on the road this weekend with a trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Sunday afternoon.

Here’s all the pre-match information you need...

What time does the match start?

The game begins at 2pm UK time.

How can I watch the game?

Sunday’s match will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League.

If you’re following us from overseas, head over to our Spurs on TV web page to see if the game is being shown live in your region.

As always, our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app will bring you full live text and audio commentary throughout the game.

Video highlights will be available across club channels from two hours after the full-time whistle, with a full match replay available on demand on SPURSPLAY from midnight.

What is the team news?

Kevin Danso and Pedro Porro are back in the frame after missing our last few games through respective toe and hamstring injuries.

Boss Igor Tudor has also confirmed that Micky van de Ven will be okay to play after a minor toe issue this week.

Cristian Romero remains out through suspension with James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies all still sidelined.

Fulham have lost the services of forward Kevin over a foot injury, but they’re hopeful that Sasa Lukic, Samuel Chukwueze and Antonee Robinson will all be involved.

Who is the referee?

Tom Bramall will referee the match on Sunday.

He’ll be assisted by Adrian Holmes and Simon Long, with James Linnington as the fourth official.

VAR duties will be handled by Craig Pawson and assistant Lee Betts.

The Women’s Asian Cup kicks off this weekend and Clare Hunt is looking forward to the ‘incredible experience’ of competing in another prestigious tournament in her home country.

The defender was one of our three players to have jetted off this week – Toko Koga and Maika Hamano also called up for Japan – to represent their country in the competition over the next month.

Having been part of the Matildas squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia, it will be another special moment for our number 15 – not only will it be her first appearance in this prestigious tournament, but she will be walking out in front of thousands of Australians once again.

Clare and Australia begin their tournament on Sunday (1 March, 9am kick-off) against Philippines in Perth and the 26-year-old spoke of her excitement to be involved in another major international tournament on home turf.

“I’m extremely excited to be playing in Australia in front of a home crowd again in a tournament setting and it will be incredible to share an experience like this with family, friends and fellow Australians,” she told us.

“The Women’s World Cup in 2023 was a great experience in terms of seeing the women’s game grow, so hoping this tournament continues to celebrate football in Australia and across Asia.

Asked about the difference of competing in a tournament midseason, Clare added: “Tournament preparation is different during this time - where training and playing consistently with club is the best preparation, given that we are in season. I feel well prepared and eager to start the tournament.”

With tournament set to run until Saturday 21 March, there’s a chance that Clare – alongside Toko and Maika – could miss our clashes against Everton and Manchester City, but she will be keeping a close eye on her team-mates and will be hoping to call in via FaceTime once again, as she did for our FA Cup success with London City Lionesses earlier this week.

“Unfortunately, I will be unavailable due to the extended FIFA window for AFC nations, however I will closely support and follow the team as best as I can from Australia,” Clare said.

“I know they will continue to work hard and compete, as they always do. I’m keen to have a few more celebratory FaceTimes with the girls while I am away!”

Our Under-18s are back on the road this weekend with a trip to Ipswich Town on Saturday morning (11am UK).

Newcomers to the Under-18 Premier League this season, the Suffolk side are currently bottom of the southern division standings having won three, drawn two and lost 10 of their 15 games to date.

One of those defeats came against us at Hotspur Way, as we surged to a 4-0 home victory back in November. Our youngsters also defeated them in the Under-17 Premier League Cup earlier in the campaign.

Going into the weekend, we remain second in the table just two points behind leaders Chelsea, although the Blues have two games in hand.

Kick-off at Ipswich’s training ground is at 11am UK – supporters will be able to follow live text updates during the game on our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app. A post-match report will also be available afterwards on the same platforms as usual.

Highlights | Under-18s defeat Fulham at home last weekend

Today, we celebrate 12 years of the Proud Lilywhites. From a meeting in the Bill Nicholson suite at White Hart Lane to over a thousand members, now more than ever, we will work with the Proud Lilywhites to continue to ensure our game is welcome to LGBTQI+ people.

For over a decade the Proud Lilywhites have worked with the Club and our Foundation to build a growing community, while campaigning and remaining visible across the game and wider community, and they aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon.

Proud Lilywhites member Christopher Lewis shares his story of supporting our Club and experience as a fan.

I have been a Tottenham Hotspur supporter since before birth, and in my family that was never optional. Our connection to the Club goes back generations, and it has shaped how I think about tradition, identity, and belonging. Tottenham always stayed with me through my grandfather, who took me to matches and was my main father figure growing up.

For a long time though, football itself felt complicated, because supporting Spurs and feeling at home in football culture were not always the same thing. I identify as queer, something I only felt comfortable naming as an adult, and growing up in the nineties and 2000s, football did not always feel like a welcoming place. I played as a young teenager, then drifted away as I started to understand myself more clearly and found spaces that I considered more welcoming.

After losing my grandad to bowel cancer in my thirties, I realised football was not something I could just stop doing, and so I began going to games again on my own.

The moment that changed everything came in summer 2023, outside a women’s match at the new stadium, where there were a group of anti-choice protestors. I felt angry, but what I remember most is how sad it made me feel. Young women were being encouraged to feel that football could belong to them too, and they were being met with hate. These are not strangers. They are our partners, daughters, sisters, cousins, co-workers, nieces, and friends.

I emailed supporters clubs asking what I could do, and the Proud Lilywhites came back to me. They took it seriously and raised it with the club. That response mattered because it reminded me what football can be.

Sport gives people a shared language and a shared sense of belonging, but it only works when everyone can enter without fear, shame, or exclusion. Proud Lilywhites showed me that inclusion does not just happen by itself. People must choose it and make it real.

Not long after joining, I was invited to play five-a-side football with the Proud Lilywhites, which I have now been doing for several years. It is one of the best things the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation does, opening football to people who have historically been excluded. It brought me back to playing, but it also brought me into a community.

In March, we have a tournament where we will represent the Club, and I love what that says. It does not matter who you are or who you love. You can still be Tottenham. Super Tottenham. From the Lane.

My partner and I are both season ticket holders in 527, Shelf Side. We look forward every week to seeing our football family, and we travel when we can to away games in the UK and abroad. We were in Frankfurt most recently, and we went to Italy for the Super Cup. Those trips, often with fellow Proud Lilywhites, have become part of the rhythm of my life and a real expression of belonging.

Along the way there have been surreal moments that a younger me would never have believed, like playing in a tournament at Hotspur Way and scoring two goals. I think about my grandfather in those moments, and about the bond we shared through the Club. I find myself imagining what he would think if he could see me now, playing there, writing this, surrounded by friends, and feeling not only that the Club is part of me, but that it can be there for everyone.

This message of inclusion also feels true to our history. Tottenham has long been shaped by communities who know what it is to be othered. The roots of the area, its social history, the club's association with a Jewish following, and figures like Walter Tull all point to a culture that understands what it means to stand apart. In my view, that is part of our legacy, and it should extend to everyone, including LGBTQI+ people.

I know our club is not perfect, but we do have a choice about what kind of home we create. If you want to do your part, it doesn't have to be complicated. Welcome the new faces in your row. Bring a mate who has never felt football was for them. Challenge homophobia, racism, misogyny, and any other unnecessary hate when you hear it.

If you want to go further, support Proud Lilywhites by joining, donating, or volunteering. The smallest actions, repeated by enough of us are what make Tottenham feel like home for everyone.

Thank you Proud Lilywhites, and here's to the next 12 years.

Fulham will be without forward Kevin when we make the trip to Craven Cottage this weekend.

Heading to west London on Sunday for the 2pm kick-off (UK), our hosts will be missing their summer signing Kevin after the Brazilian suffered a metatarsal injury in their victory over Sunderland last time out.

The winger played 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light before being forced off through injury.

He is now expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.

Fulham boss Marco Silva said in his pre-match press conference, “Kevin is the only player who will not be in contention for the game.

“We’re are waiting (to find out more), but he's probably going to have surgery and will be out for some weeks. It’s a big blow for us and for him personally. We’re here to support him.”

Elsewhere, there are hopes for Fulham and Silva over the availability of Sasa Lukic, Samuel Chukwueze and Antonee Robinson.

“Saša (Lukić), (Samuel) Chukwueze and the others have been in and out of contention, but they’ve had a good week. (Antonee) Robinson is back in sessions with the team.

“We another session and we're going to make a decision after that.”

We, meanwhile, will be boosted by the return of Kevin Danso and Pedro Porro, who have missed the last four weeks through injury. Micky van de Ven is also expected to be available after a small problem with his toe this week.

Welcome back to '60 seconds on...' our match preview with the pundits who know our opponents inside out.

Next up, it’s Fulham in the Premier League at Craven Cottage on Sunday (2pm UK), so we called in on James Andrew - @JamesAndrew_ - Editor of FourFourTwo Magazine, Fulham fan and contributor to the Cottagers’ official matchday programme.

Looking at recent results against Liverpool, Chelsea, Brighton and Sunderland - and still wondering how you lost against Everton – is it fair to say Fulham are in pretty decent form at the moment?

James: “That was a really tough run on paper - Palace away on New Year's Day and then we had Liverpool, Chelsea and you're like… what are we going to get from this? Last kick of the game, we drew the game with Liverpool, beating Chelsea is something we don't do nearly enough, but it's always really, really enjoyable when we do. Then Brighton, I'll be honest, we didn't deserve to win that. Again, last kick of the game, free-kick from Harry Wilson. Brighton were the better team, as they were at the home game, so we've nicked four points off Brighton this season if I'm honest. Sunderland was a really, really good performance on Sunday and we really needed it because we've had difficult away games at City, where we just never turn up. I don't know what it is, I don't know what we'd need to do to win against City. We had a disappointing defeat away at Leeds, again, last-minute goal, in January. We lost to Manchester United again last minute. I think we were on - with the Everton one - three defeats in a row, weren't in great form, so we needed the away wins in the FA Cup against Stoke and then Sunderland just to... I don't think we were ever really nervous, I think we'd done enough earlier in the season to make sure we were far enough away, but until you're safe, you're always a bit nervous. I'm writing a programme column for West Ham, which is after the Spurs game. I'm writing about how exciting it is for the rest of the season from a Fulham point of view because we're still in the FA Cup, as I write the column, and we should be safe in the Premier League. It's a case of looking up to see what we can achieve this season, but I think the last two wins against Stoke and Sunderland were key just to get back on track.”

How is Ryan Sessegnon getting on?

James: “He's been playing a lot this season because Antonee Robinson's not been fit, so he's been playing left-back. He's probably better suited to playing further forward, but he's been really, really good in pretty much all the games he's played this season and makes a difference off the bench if he's not starting. If I go back to when he came through at Fulham as a 16-year-old and then he stayed with Fulham in the Premier League, signed a new deal and then left for decent money - no-one begrudged him that. It just felt like Sessegnon did everything the right way and I think you'll be hard pushed to find a Fulham fan who didn't wish him the best at Spurs. I know that injuries got the better of him, but he came back last season and hardly played in the first half of the season. I think Marco Silva was just working with him on the training ground. Then, when he came into it in the second half of last season, he was fit, strong and he was making a difference. He's got that ability at left-back, left-wing - he played on the right last season and this season as well - to pop up in the box and score. He's absolutely loved at Fulham.”

Legend on the Bench, a charity fronted by our legendary former midfielder, Micky Hazard, today reached a major milestone with the installation of its 100th suicide prevention bench.

Created in memory of Micky’s nephew Jay, who tragically took his own life aged just 23, Legend on the Bench was founded by his mother and Micky’s sister, Michelle Hazard, with a mission to install suicide prevention benches in every local park or open space in the UK.

And since its launch in February 2024, the charity is already making great strides towards achieving its objective – the 100th bench was unveiled by a host of Spurs Legends, including Pat Jennings, Gary Mabbutt, Ossie Ardiles, Graham Roberts, Mark Falco and Micky himself in The Water Gardens, Harlow, Essex, on the seventh anniversary of Jay’s passing.

Each bench is equipped with a solar-powered light which keeps it illuminated through the darkness of night as a beacon of hope for anyone who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts. The benches carry the poignant message that ‘Someone Is Always Listening’, along with a number of helpline numbers, including Samaritans.

Speaking at the launch, hosted by Harlow Council, Micky said: “February 26th will always be Jay’s anniversary, the day our world changed forever. Out of the deepest pain came something powerful, something that saves lives.

“Standing here at our 100th bench reveal is overwhelming in the most humbling way. What began as a tribute to Jay has become a movement across the UK, a movement of hope and togetherness. And that is because of the people who stood beside us, not just today, but every single step of this journey.

“When we unveil our benches, they are not just wood and metal. We are making a promise. A promise that support is here. A promise that we care. Our Benches are 100 places for someone to sit and pause. 100 visible commitments that our communities are choosing to talk, to listen, and to act. And 100 reminders that you are not alone and that someone is always listening.”

The centenary bench was installed in the memory of Clive Worthington, the former business partner of Kris Laskowski, Managing Director of Branson Leisure Ltd, who manufacture the benches.

Kris said: “When we first met Michelle, Micky and the team and heard their vision and idea about the benches, we just had to be involved because we lost my past business partner, Clive, to suicide nine months previously.

“Today we’re here delivering the 100th bench in Clive’s memory and hopefully plenty more to follow to help raise mental health awareness everywhere and to everyone.”

Earlier this season, the Club partnered with the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative to launch a home matchday support service delivered by Mind in Haringey – since September, this has received over 100 contacts and has already made potentially life-saving interventions.

Staff from Mind in Haringey are based at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during all Premier League matches across the season. They can be reached by sending a WhatsApp to 07399 928274 and are available to meet confidentially with anyone who requires support on the day. Support is also available outside of home matchdays, with fans directed to a dedicated hub on Mind in Haringey’s website for out of hours support.

Statistics

Every 90 minutes, someone in the UK takes their own life

For more on Legend on the Bench, visit: https://www.legend-on-the-bench.co.uk/

Vicario holds specialist goalkeeping evening for Academy keepers  Tottenham Hotspur

We can now confirm the dates and kick-off times for both legs of our UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.

The first leg at Atleti's Wanda Metropolitano will be on Tuesday 10 March - kick-off 8pm UK/9pm local.

The second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be on Wednesday 18 March - kick-off 8pm UK.

We also now know our path for the rest of the knockout competition - victory over two legs against Atleti will mean a quarter-final clash against either Newcastle United or Barcelona.

You can check out UEFA's full bracket view via the link below with dates of the R16, QF, semi-finals and final.

Round of 16 in full...

First legs

Galatasaray vs Liverpool (5.45pm UK)

Atalanta vs Bayern Munich (8pm UK)

ATLETICO MADRID vs SPURS (8pm UK)

Newcastle vs Barcelona (8pm UK)

Leverkusen vs Arsenal (5.45pm UK)

Bodø/Glimt vs Sporting CP (8pm UK)

PSG vs Chelsea (8pm UK)

Real Madrid vs Man City (8pm UK)

Second legs

Sporting CP vs Bodø/Glimt (5.45pm UK)

Arsenal v Leverkusen (8pm UK)

Chelsea vs PSG (8pm UK)

Man City vs Real Madrid (8pm UK)

Barcelona vs Newcastle (5.45pm)

Bayern Munich vs Atalanta (8pm UK)

Liverpool vs Galatasaray (8pm UK)

SPURS vs ATLETICO MADRID (8pm UK)