Tottenham Hotspur

Martin Ho has made the changes to the team that faced Chelsea last time out in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarter-final.

One is an enforced change at the back as Hanna Wijk, who suffered a MCL injury on international duty and is ruled out for the rest of the season, is replaced by Ella Morris for her first start of the campaign.

Maika Hamano comes back into the starting XI after missing our clash with the Blues due to being ineligible to face her parent club, replacing Eveliina Summanen who drops to the substitute’s bench.

The final change comes into our attacking line as Olivia Holdt comes in for Bethany England, with Drew Spence taking the captain’s armband.

Starting XI: Kop, Morris, A. Nilden, Gaupset, Holdt, Vinberg, Tandberg, Hamano, Spence (c), Koga, Blakstad.

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

Here's how Man Utd line-up...

Starting XI: Tullis-Joyce, Le Tissier (c), Lundkvist, Park, Rolfo, Awujo, Riviere, Naalsund, Miyazawa, Turner, Schuller.

Substitutes: Rendell, Middleton-Patel, Sandberg, George, Toone, Malard, Wangerheim, Anderson.

SPURSPLAY

SPURSPLAY

SPURSPLAY

Here’s what he had to say...

Regardless of what was happening elsewhere, your players had to prove their worth today. What can you about their character?

Roberto: “Yeah, I think in the first half, in the first 30, 35 minutes, we played well. We didn't create big chances to score, but anyway we had total control of the game. Then, I don't know the pressure, maybe we didn't win any games in 2026, maybe this pressure, maybe because we played against Wolverhampton, we lost distances, we lost order on the pitch, every one of us wanted to go one-to-one, but anyway, I'm happy for the result. I hope this result can change something in our head, in our mentality for the other results. It's already very tough to win a game for us. If we put our heads on the other teams, it becomes too tough for me."

Do you have an update on Xavi and Solanke?

Roberto: “Solanke is a muscular injury, I don't know what level of injury, and for Xavi it's a problem of knee, and we're going to see in the next days, Monday or Tuesday. For Solanke, it's not a big problem. I don't know how many games we lose him, but I would like to know the real situation of Xavi, because the knee is always different than the muscular injury. He felt pain, but now I spoke with him two minutes ago, he feels better than at the beginning of the injury.”

It was a big moment for Antonin Kinsky at the end - how proud are you of him?

Roberto: “He deserves this day, because he played very well, especially today. He was crucial for the result, he deserves everything, because he's a good guy, he's a good goalkeeper, and especially after Madrid, he deserves a day like today.”

You said that one win could be transformative, what was it like afterwards in the dressing room?

Roberto: “I hope so, but I wouldn't like to lose any other players, because Romero, Kudus, now Solanke and maybe Xavi, we can win the games with the players, not with the coaches. The coaches are important, but the players are more important. I want to be positive. Kolo Muani started the game very well, and then he lost confidence. I have to go every day for lunch with Kolo Muano this week, every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, because he's a top player, he has potential, and I want him to play better, he feels better on the pitch, he tries to go one-to-one, to shoot something with more energy, because he can do that.”

Is there belief from the players that they can save the season?

Roberto: “I think the players, they know what they are and what they can do on the pitch, especially this season, because it's true, we didn't win a game in 2026, but on the table in the Champions League, they finished fifth place, no? In the Champions League, I think it's not so easy, or it's easier than the Premier League, so they have to be positive, they have to feel full confidence, because they are good, and not to see the other results, for example, West Ham. We have to move on and prepare for the next games. Now, the first game is at Villa Park. That's it.”

You were fist-pumping in front of the away fans at the end - what does that mean for you and the squad, and what does it mean for the fans as well?

Roberto: “I believe to stay up. If I stay here, it's because I'm positive, now, because I'm a coach of Tottenham, Tottenham is not important on the pitch, if you are Tottenham or another team, the most important are the qualities of the players, and the human level of the players. It was a surprise for me, because I didn't know them, and when I knew better my players, I understood that we have the possibility, the chance to stay up. We have two points, not 10 points, we have two points from West Ham. West Ham are a good team, but also Tottenham are very good players and a very good team.”

What surprised you about the players, what was it?

Roberto: “When I watched the game, or if you watch the game on the stand or TV, you can't understand if they have the right spirit, they have the right attitude, and I work with them every day, and all players are professional, good guys, they are suffering for this situation, just to give them confidence and order on the pitch, because I didn't like the second half at all, we could play better, we have to play better, much better than the second half, we have to play like the first 30 minutes, maybe creating more chances to score and more shots on goal."

If Xavi is injured, Solanke as well – are you going to have to get creative to find other ways to create chances?

Roberto: “We can play with Mathys on the left, Kolo Muani on the right, Souza on the right, Bergvall on the left, and we have to create. I don't want to change too much, three defenders, four defenders, I don't want to put more confusion on the players, especially this season, because they changed a lot of tactical dispositions, to be clear and simple, but for your question, we need to stay strong in the head, positive in ourselves.”

Striker Dominic was forced off after 40 minutes with a muscular injury, replaced by Richarlison. Meanwhile, Roberto confirmed Xavi picked up a knee injury as he tussled with Hugo Bueno in the 63rd minute, replaced by Lucas Bergvall.

Despite losing two such influential players in the attacking third, we managed to dig out a win with a goal from Joao Palhinha in the 82nd minute, pouncing from close range after Richarlison poked Pedro Porro's corner at goal - a much-needed first win of 2026.

Speaking to us afterwards on Dominic and Xavi, Roberto reported: "I hope both are not too important problems, especially for Xavi, because Solanke is a muscular injury. For Xavi, it's a knee, and when there is a knee it's a more tough situation."

Asked later about the injuries in his post-match press conference, Roberto added: "Solanke is a muscular injury. I don't know what level of injury, and for Xavi it's a problem of the knee, and we're going to see in the next days, Monday or Tuesday.

"For Solanke, it's not a big problem. I don't know how many games we lose him, but I would like to know the real situation of Xavi, because the knee is always different than the muscular injury. Xavi felt pain, but now I spoke with him two minutes ago, he feels better than at the beginning of the injury."

Joao Palhinha struck from close range in the 82nd minute to secure our first Premier League win of 2026 – an even more vital goal in the bigger picture with West Ham also finding a late winner against Everton.

We started well at Molineux, but clear-cut chances were hard to find against Wolves packed defensive shape of 5-3-2, often with eight players behind the ball.

Indeed, as we lost Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons to injury, the game started to become scrappy, and Wolves came more and more into it – until Palhinha struck from Pedro Porro’s corner.

There was still time for one more heart-stopping moment as Joao Gomes’ took aim from a free-kick 30 yards out, the ball destined for the top corner before Antonin Kinsky tipped over at full stretch.

Speaking to us afterwards, Roberto said: “I think in the first 30 minutes, 35 maybe, we played very well. Okay, we didn't create too many chances, but we had the control, with the right order on the pitch, with the right players between the lines.

“We attack a lot of time with Kolo Muani, Pedro Porro and Conor Gallagher in the right side. In the left side, with Djed Spence, we had many opportunities to go in one-to-one.

“We didn't score and then maybe the pressure, maybe the psychological part to score and to win the game… we lost distances on the pitch, we lost order. Wolverhampton had nothing to lose. We didn't win any games in 2026. The psychological part was tough, but I think we deserved to win, especially if we analyse the Brighton games and the Sunderland games.

“We must live on the pitch, for sure - with Solanke, without Solanke, with Xavi, without Xavi, without Romero. I prefer they can play, for sure, but if they can't play, we have to move on anyway with courage, with pride, with the right mentality, with the right spirit, because it's not finished yet.

“We have a chance to stay up. I believe if we are better to show our qualities - because today we didn't show all our qualities - and my work is to help the players to feel more confidence and to show what they are able to do.

“I believe to stay up. I believe in the quality of our players, and I hope this win today can be crucial, can be, can do the switch, the mental switch.”

The midfielder stepped off the bench to convert from close range with eight minutes remaining to score the only goal of a tense and scrappy game against Wolverhampton Wanderers and give us a massive confidence boost ahead of our remaining four matches.

But we still needed a stunning save from Antonin Kinsky to keep out Joao Gomes’ free-kick in the dying seconds to ensure victory – one that was so important considering all the teams above us all won as well. It means we remain third from bottom, but this could be the start of our revival.

Knowing we pretty much had to win the game against already relegated Wolves, we made a bright start and went close in the 11th minute when a loose ball from Joao Gomes went straight to Randal Kolo Muani who advanced a few yards before drilling just past the near post from 20 yards out. Djed Spence then had a shot blocked and Pedro Porro’s low ball across the six-yard box was turned behind by former Spur Matt Doherty as we continued to set the pace. Wolves grew into the game and had a good chance when a corner was cleared to Rodrigo Gomes who hit a clean volley well blocked by Dominic Solanke.

Unfortunately the England striker was forced off with an injury towards the end of the first half, replaced by Richarlison, while it was Wolves with the next half-chance as Adam Armstrong flicked on a corner but it went over everyone and out for a goal-kick. The first half ended goalless and, in truth, it had turned into a lacklustre affair to that point.

Seven minutes after the restart we almost took the lead following a wonderful move. Some neat one-touch football down the right then saw Pedro Porro switch play with a delightful pass to Xavi Simons, who cut onto his right foot inside the area, only for Doherty to come across and divert his shot over the crossbar.

The game started to open up a bit more and on the hour mark, the home side threatened again when a deep cross was turned back into the box by Pedro Lima but Mateus Mane couldn’t keep his header down before Armstrong almost got on the end of a long ball which Kevin Danso tried to head back to Antonin Kinsky but the keeper got there first to punch clear.

Our cause wasn’t helped when we also lost Xavi to injury, carried off on a stretcher with what looked a knee problem, however we went close twice in quick succession, the first when substitute Mathys Tel saw a dangerous shot blocked for a corner and, from the set-piece, Rodrigo Bentancur produced our first effort on target with a powerful header in the 69th minute that Jose Sa saved well. Back and forth we went, Armstrong heading over from a good position at one end before Doherty got the slightest of touches on Pedro Porro’s cross to deny Richarlison a free header at goal at the other.

Then, finally, the moment we so desperately craved. With eight minutes left on the clock, a corner fell to Richarlison who swept the ball forwards and there was Palhinha to poke home from close range. We had a nervous wait for VAR to confirm there was no offside, but the goal thankfully stood.

The final stages were tense, nervous, anxious – everything one would imagine considering the situation we’re in, as we did what we could to hold onto the slender lead. In the end, it came down to virtually the last kick of the game as Wolves won a free-kick 22 yards from goal, centre of the pitch. Up stepped Joao Gomes, getting his shot over the wall and heading for the back of the net until Kinsky’s wonderful diving save to push it away – one which ensured we returned home with three most valuable points.

Line-ups

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-2-1): Jose Sa, Doherty (c) (Hwang 85), H Bueno (Møller Wolfe 90+4), Toti, Lima (Tchatchoua 86), Andre, J Gomes, S Bueno, R Gomes (Arokodare 71), Mane, Armstrong. Substitutes (not used): Bentley, Bellegarde, A Gomes, Olagunju, Edozie.

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Danso, van de Ven (c), Spence, Bentancur, Bissouma (Palhinha 62), Kolo Muani (Tel 46), Gallagher (Dragusin 90+1), Xavi (Bergvall 63), Solanke (Richarlison 40). Substitutes (not used): Austin, Souza, Gray, Maddison.

Match data

Goal: Spurs – Palhinha 82.

Yellow cards: Wolves – Andre, H Bueno, J Gomes; Spurs – Pedro Porro, Bentancur, Gallagher, Danso.

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Venue: Molineux Stadium.

Weather: Sunny, light winds, 20 degrees.

Attendance: 31,253.

Having lost possession and fallen behind early to Oliver Bindley’s strike, we hit straight back through captain Tye Hall’s third goal in four games and were deservedly level at the break.

But a horrible moment for goalkeeper Blake Irow on his first appearance after injury saw Villa forward Markie Meade close him down and score what proved to be the decisive goal five minutes after half-time as we slipped to back-to-back league defeats for the first time this season.

Centre-back Cayon Hanson started for the first time at this level while Under-16s defender Solomon Olajide produced an impressive display in an unfamiliar left-back role as Jamie Carr made changes from last week’s home loss to Brighton, but a difficult start at Bodymoor Heath saw us go 1-0 down inside four minutes. After intercepting the ball, Villa broke forward through Meade, he shifted it left to Jack McGrath and his low centre was converted by Bindley.

A moment of quality saw us draw level two minutes later, though, as some slick play involving centre-forward Oliver Boast saw Harry Byrne – playing in central midfield – drill in to the feet of Hall and he turned in a congested area on the 18-yard line to curl superbly inside the far post, scoring for the third away game in succession.

Conall Glancy lashed into the side-netting and later delivered a menacing corner that led to loud appeals for handball in the Villa box, but the referee waved away our players’ claims, while Boast’s angled shot was comfortable for goalkeeper Rhys Oakley as we got into some good areas but struggled to meaningfully threaten the opponents’ goal.

A big moment arrived five minutes into the second period, though, as Irow, back in the side for the first time since January, was closed down by Meade, who sent the ball flying back into the net to restore the home side’s lead. Boast and Miracle Adewole sent shots wide, as did Villa’s Cole Ramsey, while substitute Heaven Kilwa stung the palms of Irow as both sides struggled to build any sustained momentum, while Boast was left frustrated after peeling away in behind and going down under Keilan Quinn’s challenge, but the referee again was having none of it.

Bindley and Byrne fired off-target at either end as we entered the closing stages but despite some good late pressure from us, we were unable to force an equaliser and the points went to the hosts.

‘We lacked a bit of a cutting edge’

Although disappointed with the scoreline, coach Jamie saw some positives from individual displays: “When we look at the big picture of the individual performances, three or four of the back line did really well,” he said. “Both Under-16s (Olajide and Oscar Sandiford) came out with a lot of credit – they performed really well – and we were competitive from that point of view, but overall we probably lacked a bit of a cutting edge in the final third. When we were in crossing positions, we didn’t quite pick out the right delivery or when we were in positions to shoot, we didn’t hit the target so that was frustrating, but overall, we played some good stuff, we used the insides more than we have done previously and played some good football at times, but probably not enough when you look at the whole game.”

Line-up

Spurs: B Irow, Sandiford, Olajide, Hanson (Agyekum 81), Tingey, Tye Hall (c) (Thomas 81), Glancy (Muslika 66), Byrne, Boast, Feeney, Adewole (Elliott-Parris 73). Substitute (not used): Jack.

Roberto De Zerbi has made one change to the side which began last Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brighton.

And that is an enforced change as Djed Spence replaces Destiny Udogie, who misses out with a muscular problem.

January arrival Souza returns to the squad in place of Destiny, taking a place amongst our substitutes.

Starting XI: Kinsky, Danso, Xavi, Bissouma, Solanke, Gallagher, Pedro Porro, Spence, Bentancur, van de Ven (c), Kolo Muani.

Substitutes: Austin, Dragusin, Palhinha, Richarlison, Maddison, Tel, Gray, Bergvall, Souza.

Here is how our hosts line up...

Starting XI: Sa, Doherty (c), H. Bueno, S. Bueno, Andre, J. Gomes, Armstrong, Lima, R. Gomes, Toti, Mane.