Tottenham Hotspur

We can confirm the starting line-ups and substitutes for our first game back after the festive break against Leicester City in the Barclays Women’s Super League at Brisbane Road (kick-off 12noon).

Signe Gaupset makes her debut from the start as one of two changes from the team that faced Manchester United last month.

She replaces Martha Thomas in the starting XI, with the forward named amongst the substitutes.

In defence, Josefine Rybrink starts for the first time since in the WSL since Liverpool in November, 2025.

New arrivals Hanna Wijk, Matilda Nilden and Maika Hamano are all named as substitutes for this afternoon’s clash, while there’s also a return for Academy goalkeeper Sophie Jackson.

For the visitors, defender Ashleigh Neville starts for Leicester after making her permanent move to the Foxes earlier this week, bringing to an end a fantastic eight-and-a-half-years as a Lilywhite.

Kop, A. Nilden, Gaupset, England (c), Holdt, Rybrink, Vinberg, Hunt, Spence, Summanen, Koga.

Substitutes: Heeps, Jackson, Bartrip, M. Nilden, Wijk, Hamano, Thomas, Gunning-Williams, Dennis.

Thomas Frank spoke to the media at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after our 2-1 loss against Villa in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Here's what he had to say...

What are your reflections on the game?

Thomas: "I think it was a good second half. We played with energy, passion, intensity. How we want to play. We played with penetration, runs and passes through the middle, scored a good goal, had other chances, opportunities to get the equaliser. We couldn't get that, unfortunately, so that's the disappointing thing. The first half was not as good, especially after that goal. We can't concede the second one. That would have kept us more in the game for the second half. But second half… the energy and the cooperation, the unity with the fans was brilliant. They were very good."

Do you feel you need more in terms of bringing players in this window to help you now?

Thomas: "I think we definitely need to do everything we can to play two good halves, which I think every team wants to do. Every team wants to be consistent in that aspect. In terms of transfer market, as I said many times, we are out there working very hard, trying to improve the squad."

Richarlison, it feels like you have done so much work with him - does it look like another hamstring problem?

Thomas: "Yes, it could look like that. I think we have done a lot of things right to get him where he is now. I think he has done a lot of things right. I think it is not only about us, it is about every club. I think there are a few injuries across the Premier League. I think it is something for the football authorities to look into as well. We played five games in 13 days, four in 10, one of the few clubs that did that. This is our third time (doing that) this season. That is the most tricky thing, two days in between. We are dealing with it, we are doing everything we can to compete in it, but that is a tough schedule."

The club made a big declaration at the start of the season that it wanted to compete in all four competitions. Obviously you are out of the two cups pretty early, albeit to tough teams. What is the message to the fans that that just has not been achieved?

Thomas: "Of course that is disappointing. I said before the game that we (are going) full strength. There was nothing (more we could do). There were players we couldn't... should we energise? Micky is in a top place. That was definitely a player to think about (switching out), but we wanted to do everything we could to win the game. We did everything we could. Especially in the second half, you can see we did everything we could. Unfortunately, we faced a good Villa team as well that made two moments and scored two goals. We could only make one."

What do you think was the main difference between the first half and the second half? Especially from the beginning of the second half to the 70th minute...

Thomas: "Yes, I agree. I think there was a little bit of momentum against Sunderland. We played a very good first half. We could not keep it up in the second half. Here we played a much better second half. We came out with more energy, passion, more determination. We need to do everything we can to do that over 90 minutes. We need to keep working on that."

What can you say to fans tonight that think the season is virtually over now after this competition?

Thomas: "Of course that is disappointing. We are all hurt. There is nothing we wanted to do more than to get through to the next round, no matter who we face. We play at home. We had a good opportunity. Unfortunately, we could not go through. As I said, we went with full strength in terms of how we could do it. We all look back at the game and think, hmmm, I think we could do better in the first half and all that. In the second half, very good."

I don't know how much you saw of what happened at the end, but more post-match confrontations, this time with the other team. Are you players losing control? Are you troubled by it?

Thomas: "I don’t think so. I guess you have seen the situation. I just saw it to be sure what I saw was right. Of course, it is all about keeping a cool head. The players gave everything out there, losing a tight game. The season is not going perfect. I think Ollie (Watkins) is very provoking, the way he is going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans and he is walking into Joao. He can just easily walk around. I think everyone who has been in a competitive nature, that is difficult, they can trigger things."

Have Villa got a bad habit of this kind of provocation?

Thomas: "That I don’t know. I do not know that about Villa. I will just speak about this situation."

Is it a growing trend?

Thomas: "I think you need to play with passion. When you play with passion, then sometimes you play to the line. Sometimes a little bit borderline. I see players with big passion. They want to do very well for the Club. I think that is very important. Of course, you also need cool heads."

Aside from the enforced change in the first half, it was the 78th minute until you made your first non-enforced change. Was the waiting time perhaps speaking to a lack of depth on the bench?

Thomas: "Yes. Basically, that was it. I don't think we had the depth on the bench today. We basically didn't have a midfielder to replace Archie and Joao. I had a few solutions in my head if we had to lose one of them, we fortunately didn't. That was part of it, yes."

There was a positive response to the performance in the second half. Is that, again, indicative that it's the players and the performance that's got to get the fans rather than the players asking the fans to back them without any doubt, as it were? Do you have to start performing to get them back onside?

Thomas: "We all know there's only one way to have everyone happy, that is performing consistently and winning enough games. That's the only way. We could see in the second half especially the energy, how they feed off each other. The players and the fans were fantastic, the experience of being in the middle of it… unfortunately, we couldn't get that fantastic comeback, which sometimes kicks starts momentum. That's what we're working very hard to do. But I think the fans, the way they backed the team and pushed them forward in the second half was very, very good. First and foremost, it's us. We need to perform, and then they can feed off the energy. But, of course, we also need them in tough times, which they are there. They're travelling in big numbers to away games, and they're backing us."

Thomas Frank said Dominic Solanke is ‘in a good place’ after returning to action in our FA Cup loss against Villa on Saturday – his first action since August.

Troubled by an ankle issue in pre-season, Dominic featured off the bench in the UEFA Super Cup against PSG and our opening Premier League fixtures against Burnley and City in August but was then laid low again, his last appearance in that 2-0 win at the Etihad on 23 August.

Dom came off the bench as we poured forward trying to find an equaliser against Villa, not to be as we suffered a 2-1 loss.

“He’s in a good place,” said Thomas of Dominic afterwards. “Of course, he's not fully to fit to go 90 minutes, top sharp, but he is fit enough to get out there and get 15 minutes (against Villa). Then, we build from there and he will be in a better place next week against West Ham.”

We take on West Ham in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday week, 17 January (3pm UK).

Thomas Frank said the injury that forced Richarlison out of our FA Cup tie against Villa ‘looked like a hamstring’ and will now wait for further assessment.

The striker pulled up at full speed on 31 minutes, replaced by Randal Kolo Muani. We trailed 1-0 by then in the third-round encounter, Villa doubling their advantage in first half stoppage time. We were much improved in the second half, pulled a goal back through Wilson Odobert but couldn’t find an equaliser.

It was typical of our injury luck at the moment – Dominic Solanke made his first appearance since August, but we then lose Richy.

“Yeah, we are in that spell where that classic happens, unfortunately,” said Thomas, who was asked if it was a hamstring issue. “It looks like that, but we haven't assessed him yet,” he added.

Richy joins a growing list of recent injuries with Mo Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur all sidelined in the last week. At least Dominic was back - he featured for 15 minutes off the bench - and Destiny Udogie was also back after injury, an unused substitute.

Thomas Frank praised the team’s second half display after our 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat against Villa, while conceding ‘the second goal is what kills us’.

That goal, from Morgan Rogers, came in the third minute of four added at the end of the first half. Already leading 1-0 after Emiliano Buendia’s opener on 22 minutes, we were hit by two big blows – first, Richarlison being forced off due to an injury, then Rogers’ goal to put that extra daylight between the teams.

Despite getting into numerous dangerous positions, we couldn’t find an equaliser, so Villa take their place in the fourth round.

“I think the first 20 was probably relatively even,” reflected Thomas on SPURSPLAY. “After that (first) goal, we couldn't really get near them. We needed to react quicker to that. The four, five, six times we went high pressure, we actually won it, but we didn't get that enough. That changed in the second half.

“The second half was excellent. That's the game we want to play, with intensity, passion, aggression, good high pressure, playing forward, penetration with runs and passes, good goals.

“The first half was not as good. The second goal is what kills us. We're facing a good team, they scored a quality goal, the first one. The second half, when we’re all together, the fans, the energy, how they feed off each other, that's brilliant.”

Asked about Xavi’s influence in the second half, Thomas added: “There were a lot of good things in the second half, no doubt about that. I agree, Xavi was excellent, especially in the second half. He wanted to get on the ball, he wanted to be decisive, he wanted to make the final action, either with a pass or a goal or an assist or a second assist.

“The intensity from the whole team driving forward, I loved that. We need to put that together over two halves and cut out the mistakes, particularly the second goal.”

A battling second half performance fell just short on Saturday evening, as we tumbled out of the FA Cup in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

The damage was really done in the first period as goals from Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers, the latter in first-half stoppage time, gave the visitors a commanding lead.

But we gave it a real go after the break, Wilson Odobert firing home to reduce the deficit while Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot made a couple of smart saves to keep his side ahead. In the end though, we couldn’t find that elusive equaliser and exited the tournament at the first hurdle. It was our first home defeat in the FA Cup third round since 1992, when we lost 1-0, also to Aston Villa.

On a cold evening at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the game got underway with us wearing a special all-white shirt to commemorate the 125th anniversary of our 1901 FA Cup success as a non-league team. However there was little play in the opening minutes following an injury to Boubacar Kamara, which led to his departure. When the game did get into its stride, it was the visitors with the first effort of note, Donyell Malen high and wide from 25 yards in the 10th minute. We responded with a spell of possession without troubling Bizot, before the visitors went ahead on 22 minutes. John McGinn and Malen combined to release Buendia and he struck a fierce drive high past Guglielmo Vicario from 15 yards out.

We suffered another setback shortly after when Richarlison limped off to be replaced by Randal Kolo Muani just after the half-hour mark, while Villa were setting the tempo of the game, forcing five corners although none that caused us any real trouble. Our best spell of the half came approaching half-time as Kevin Danso headed over from our first corner of the match before Kolo Muani had a goal ruled out for offside after an incisive run through the middle of the pitch from Xavi Simons. However, we fell further behind three minutes into stoppage time when Malen squared the ball into the box to Buendia, he laid off to Rogers who took a touch and slid the ball into the bottom corner, leaving us with a mountain to climb at the break.

Needing a quick response after the interval, we almost got one when a well-worked move ended with Xavi drilling right-footed from 20 yards but Bizot did well to dive to his left to push it away. But then we did get just what we needed in the 53rd minute, a lovely goal as Kolo Muani did well to win the ball back and drive forwards, slipping it right to Odobert who finished with a crisp shot into the far corner.

It was a goal that changed the whole momentum of the contest, not to mention the atmosphere in the stadium and suddenly, we were up for the fight. And we almost levelled it up two minutes later only for Bizot to make another big save to deny Xavi. We were snapping into tackles, putting pressure on Villa in possession and that led to an opportunity in the 71st minute, Joao Palhinha latching onto a loose ball and hitting a shot that was deflected away for a corner.

Villa always carried a threat though and we were indebted to Pedro Porro moments later as he cleared Buendia’s bobbling shot off the line after a Matty Cash cut-back, while Vicario showed good hands to save a Rogers shot which bounced right in front of him. We thought we’d levelled it up with 11 minutes remaining, Xavi rounding Bizot and rolling the ball home only for the flag to go up again for offside. The final stages were a bit stop-start meaning we couldn’t get into any kind of flow to mount any sustained pressure and the final whistle sounded to end our FA Cup hopes for another season.

We can now confirm our starting XI and substitutes for today's FA Cup third round tie with Aston Villa (kick-off 5.45pm).

Thomas Frank has made five changes from the side that started Wednesday's Premier League clash at AFC Bournemouth.

Ben Davies and Kevin Danso come into our back line with Cristian Romero suspended and Djed Spence amongst our substitutes.

Injuries to Rodrigo Bentancur and Lcas Bergvall see Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert come into the side while Richarlison starts with Randal Kolo Muani is on the bench.

But the story of the day comes from our substitutes bench where Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie have returned to the squad.

It is Destiny's first appearance since our Premier League trip to the start of December while Dom returns for the first time in 27 games - his last appearance coming in our Premier League trip to Manchester City back in August.

Starting XI: Vicario, Danso, Palhinha, Xavi, Richarlison, Tel, Gray, Pedro Porro, Odobert, Davies, Van de Ven (c).

Substitutes: Kinsky, Dragusin, Udogie, Solanke, Spence, Kolo Muani, Scarlett, Byfield, Williams-Barnett.

New for this season, our Official Matchday Programme brings fans a collection of photos sourced from a deep dive into our Mirrorpix photography archive, most of which have never been seen before.

We'll bring you a taster of the gallery here on tottenhamhotspur.com...

Next up, a selection of images from our previous FA Cup ties against Villa.

Above - Legendary double skipper Danny Blanchflower is congratulated after opening the scoring for us in our quarter-final success in N17 in March 1962.

We’re back in Barclays Women’s Super League action for the first time after the festive break, with Leicester City the visitors to Brisbane Road on Sunday.

Here’s all the pre-match information ahead of our clash with the Foxes…

What times does the match start?

The game begins at 12noon UK time.

Where can I watch the game?

Tickets are available at Brisbane Road on the day for supporters who wish to come and watch the game in person.

Supporters in the UK will be able to watch the game live on Sky Sports WSL YouTube, Sky Sports+ and WSL YouTube.

If you’re following us from overseas, check out here to see if the game is live in your area.

Our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app will bring you full live text and audio commentary throughout the match.

Video highlights will be available on club channels from four hours after the full-time whistle.

What is the team news?

Martin Ho reported that our five new signings – Signe Gaupset, Hanna Wijk, Matilda Nilden, Maika Hamano and Julie Blakstad – are all in contention to feature in this weekend’s game.

However, Cathinka Tandberg, Olga Ahtinen and Charlotte Grant remain out of the clash, but he said they’re making good progress in their recovery.

Maite Oroz, Jess Naz, Luana Buhler and Ella Morris are also unavailable.

Noemie Mouchon is in contention to feature for the Foxes, as are all their three new signings this week – Emma Jansson, Sarah Mayling and former Spur Ashleigh Neville.

Rick Passmoor confirmed they will be without Celeste Boureille, Denny Draper and Jutta Rantala for the trip to Brisbane Road.

Who is the referee?

Sophie Dennington is in charge of Sunday’s game, assisted by Phoebe Horner and Luke Bowles.

Kirsty Dowle will be the fourth official.

What colour kits will the teams be wearing?

We’ll be in our home strip, featuring Lilywhite shirts, navy blue shorts and white socks.

Our goalkeeper will be in orange.

Leicester will be in their away strip, featuring navy and green shirts, navy shorts and navy socks.

Their keeper in all-pink.

How can I get the matchday programme?

The latest issue of our new-look official matchday programme will be on sale at the game, priced at the usual £3.50. Copies can also be ordered online here for delivery direct to your door.

Inside the first edition of 2026, we catch-up with new signing Signe Gaupset for our main feature interview, Molly Bartrip completes the ‘Player Mashup’ feature and Lucy Barraclough discuss her footballing journey in the ‘Making of a Lilywhite’ feature.

What will the weather be like?

It’s set to be a cold morning in Leyton, with light rain expected throughout the morning and up to kick-off at midday. Temperatures at around four degrees.

We embark on another FA Cup quest today when Aston Villa come to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a third-round tie.

Here’s everything you need to know...

What time does the match start?

We get underway at 5.45pm UK time.

Will there be tributes to Martin Chivers and Terry Yorath?

Sadly, we lost two members of the Spurs family this week in the form of Martin Chivers and Terry Yorath.

A minute’s applause will be held before the game with a number of their former team-mates in attendance to pay their respects.

Further tributes will be paid at half-time.

Will there be a replay if it’s a draw?

If the scores are level after 90 minutes, there will not be a replay. Instead, today’s match will go to extra time and then penalties if required to determine who advances to round four.

How can I watch the game?

Today’s match will be televised live in the UK on BBC One and on TNT Sports 1.

Supporters based overseas should check our Spurs on TV page to see if the game is live in your area.

As ever, our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app will bring you full live text and audio commentary throughout the game as well, ensuring you won’t miss any of the action.

What is the team news?

Mohammed Kudus has been ruled out for several weeks after being forced off against Sunderland last weekend.

Rodrigo Bentancur picked up a hamstring injury in the midweek defeat at AFC Bournemouth while Lucas Bergvall is being assessed.

Cristian Romero is suspended today after the results of his FA charge were published on Friday.

Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke remain sidelined while Destiny Udogie is close to a return.

Pape Matar Sarr, meanwhile, is still away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.

Aston Villa are without goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez because of a calf injury while Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are also sidelined.

Evann Guessand is on AFCON duty with Ivory Coast.

Who is the referee?

Craig Pawson will referee the game, assisted by Lee Betts and Matthew Wilkes.

Michael Salisbury is the fourth official.

There is no VAR in use until the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Which kit colours will the teams be wearing?

As revealed on Friday, we’ll be wearing a special kit to commemorate the 125th anniversary of our historic FA Cup win in 1901.

The white shirts will feature white logos, creating a similar look to the plain shirts from that record-setting campaign. They will be complemented by navy blue shorts and navy blue socks.

Aston Villa will be wearing black shirts, black shorts and white socks.

Our goalkeeper will be in orange, with Villa’s in red.