Tottenham Hotspur

Live coverage: UEFA Champions League League Phase draw 2025/26  Tottenham Hotspur

Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson have been named in the latest Wales squad for an away World Cup qualifier and home friendly next month.

Currently occupying second place in Group J with one defeat from their four games in this qualifying campaign, Brennan on the scoresheet in that 4-3 loss in Belgium in June, up next they take on Kazakhstan on 4 September (kick-off 3pm UK).

Ben scored his third international goal and provided an assist the last time the two nations met in Wales in the opening group game back in March, the Dragons running out 3-1 winners, and travel to Astana looking to get back to winning ways before a friendly against one of the 2026 World Cup host nations Canada in Swansea five days later (7.45pm UK).

Sitting one point behind group leaders North Macedonia in Group J, first place seals a spot at next summer's major tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada while four remaining spots will be determined by play-offs involving the 12 group runners-up and four teams from last year's UEFA Nations League phase.

Brennan has picked up where he left off last term, finishing as our top goalscorer with 11 Premier League goals and 18 in all competitions, with two goals in as many games during our winning start to the league campaign in 2025/26. The 24-year-old currently has 37 caps and six goals for his nation.

Experienced defender Ben is closing in on his century for Wales with 96 caps to date and is expected to continue as captain with Aaron Ramsey not selected in Craig Bellamy's 25-player squad.

We were formed in 1882, Bournemouth - then known as Boscombe - in 1899 - yet it took until 2015 for us to meet for the first time in league action.

Before that historic meeting in October, 2015, following the Cherries rise to the Premier League, we'd only met once competitively - and we were the victims of an FA Cup shock as Bournemouth & Boscombe, then in the old Third Division (now League Two) beat us in the fifth round in 1957.

Since 2015, this has been a regular fixture in the Premier League, with just a two-season hiatus after the Cherries were relegated at the end of the 2019/20 campaign. They were quickly back, promoted for the 2022/23 season.

Last time we met...

Our PL record against the Cherries

Following that first meeting on 2015/16, we won 10 of our first 14 Premier League games against Bournemouth. However, Bournemouth hit back last season with a win and a draw, so our record is now 10 wins in our 16 Premier League meetings (D3 L3), including six out of eight at home.

Spurs vs Bournemouth | Premier League results

Highlights | Spurs 4-0 Bournemouth | 15.04.2017

Remembering 2017

One of our best displays against Bournemouth coincided with our best-ever season in the Premier League, 2016/17. It was the third-last game at White Hart Lane (Arsenal and the Finale against United to follow) on April 15, 2017, and we were flying.

We were completely dominant that day, particularly in midfield, with Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele up against Jack Wilshere, and ran out 4-0 victors. Mousa was on target alongside Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane and Vincent Janssen.

The result made it seven wins on the trot in the Premier League - our best run in the top flight since 1967 - and we went on to make it nine on the spin as we chased down leaders Chelsea. We completed the season unbeaten at the Lane and amassed a record points haul (86), most wins (26), most goals (86), fewest goals conceded (26) and a best goal difference (+60), and finished runners-up.

Sonny's 173rd and last goal

Bournemouth provided the opposition for what turned out to be Heung-Min Son's last goal for us. It arrived from the penalty spot five minutes from time as we came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 9 March. It took Sonny to 173 goals - just one behind Martin Chivers in our all-time top five. It was also Sonny's eighth goal in 14 league appearances against Bournemouth.

The line-up for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League is complete - so here is a look at who we could face in the League Phase.

With qualifying for European football's elite club competition now finalised, we know the 36 teams which will complete in the League Phase's 'mini' league - and we can begin to see who we could possibly face ahead of this evening's draw!

The draw

Today, in Monaco, we will learn the eight teams we will face in the League Phase of this year's Champions League.

In the the draw, the 36 teams will be split into four pots with placing determined by the individual team's UEFA coefficient ranking - Pot One with the nine highest ranked teams, Pot Four with the nine lowest ranked teams.

We have been assigned to Pot Three and go in as the highest ranked side in the pot.

We will be drawn eight opponents, two from each pot with each pot providing one team as a home opponent and the other as an away opponent.

We cannot be drawn against an English side at this stage, nor will be drawn against more than two sides from the same association - so, we will face a maximum of two Spanish opponents or two Italian opponents, for example.

Who could we face

With six English sides in the Champions League for the first time, we can only face eight of 30 teams in the draw.

We will face two from each of the following four pots

Pot One

Pot Two

Pot Three

Pot Four

Paris Saint-Germain Bayer Leverkusen PSV Eindhoven Copenhagen Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Ajax Monaco FC Bayern Benfica Napoli Galatasaray Internazionale Atalanta Sporting CP Union Saint-Gilloise Borussia Dortmund Villarreal Olympiacos Qarabag Barcelona Juventus Slavia Prague Athletic Club Eintracht Frankfurt Bodo/Glimt Pafos Club Brugge Marseille Kairat

We have been drawn at home against League One side Doncaster Rovers in the third round of this season's Carabao Cup.

Third round ties will take place in the weeks commencing 15 and 22 September* and, with Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League scheduled for 16-18 September, our third round tie will take place in the week commencing 22 September.

The date, kick-off time and ticket information of our tie will follow in due course...

Doncaster's form

Doncaster have beaten Middlesbrough - an impressive 4-0 win against the Championship side at the Riverside - and Accrington Stanley (2-0, also away) to reach the third round. Managed by Grant McCann, Rovers have made a good start to their League One campaign with three wins and a draw in their first five matches.

Last time we met

We faced Rovers away in the second round in 2009/10. After early pressure from the home side and a couple of saves from Carlo Cudicini, we went on to win 5-1 with five different goalscorers - Tom Huddlestone, Jamie O'Hara, Peter Crouch - his first for us - David Bentley and Roman Pavlyuchenko. Danny Rose, born in Doncaster, made his Spurs debut in that match, while there were first starts for Crouch and Kyle Naughton. Goalkeeper David Button, an Academy product, also made his only appearance for us off the bench in the second half.

Highlights | Doncaster 1-5 Spurs, 26.08.2009

On Thursday afternoon (28 August), we'll learn our opponents for the League Phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.

Back in European football's elite club competition after three years away, we earned our return thanks to that unforgettable night in Bilbao back in May - a now a new Champions League format awaits us.

When we were last in the competition - in 2022/23 - we faced three teams in the group stage, however that has now changed as, like the Europa League last season, the Champions League also has a 36-team mini league in which we will face eight different opponents!

And tomorrow (Thursday) we'll learn who those opponents will be in the League Phase draw in Monaco - here is how the draw will work...

The 2025/26 League Phase draw explained

Taking place on the Mediterranean coast in Monaco, the draw will begin at 5pm (UK).

The 36 teams in the League Phase will be be represented by balls and will be split across four pots with placing determined by the individual club's UEFA coefficient ranking - the eight highest coefficients being placed in Pot One alongside the Champions League title holder - Paris Saint-Germain. The next nine highest coefficients will be assigned to Pot Two and so on.

With four places in the League phase still to be determined - there remains four play-off games tonight - we are yet to be assigned a pot, but we know it will be either Pot Two or Pot Three.

The draw will begin with Pot One. A physical ball containing the name of a team in Pot One will be drawn before the team is revealed. Computer software will then determine which eight opponents that side will face.

That procedure will be completed for each ball in the pot until all Pot One teams have their eight opponents. The draw will then move onto Pot Two where the same procedure will be performed.

Rules

The computer software follows a list of rules when determining the eight opponents for each side.

It shall assign each side two opponents from each pot (two from Pot One, two from Pot Two, two from Pot Three and two from Pot Four). From each pot, one team will be assigned as the away match with the other assigned as the home match.

No team from the same association will be drawn against each other (ie. we will not face another English club at this stage).

We will face a maximum of two clubs from the same association (ie. two Italian sides, two Spanish sides etc)

Fixture dates and kick-off times

UEFA will release match details for each League Phase game no later than Saturday 30 August.

Gallery | Working towards Southampton  Tottenham Hotspur

This season, thanks to that unforgettable night in Bilbao back in May, we shall be competing in the UEFA Champions League!

As winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League, we booked our place in the League Phase of the 2025/26 Champions League and the first major date in the competition's schedule is tomorrow (Thursday 28 August) as our eight opponents for the League Phase will be revealed.

Here is all you need to know ahead of our next European adventure...

The format

Like last season's Europa League campaign, the group stage of the Champions League has become a 36-team 'mini' league.

Each club faces eight different teams once, four at home and four away. The top eight advance directly to the round of 16, while sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout round play-offs, with the winners of all eight two-legged ties going through to the last 16.

From the last 16 onwards, the tournament then takes a straight knockout format, with two-legged ties through until a single-leg final on 30 May, 2026, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

The draw for the league stage will take place tomorrow (Thursday 28 August) with match rounds pencilled in as follows...

Matchday 1: 16/18 September, 2025

Matchday 2: 30 September/1 October, 2025

Matchday 3: 21/22 October, 2025

Matchday 4: 4/5 November, 2025

Matchday 5: 25/26 November, 2025

Matchday 6: 9/10 December, 2025

Matchday 7: 20/21 January, 2026

Matchday 8: 28 January, 2026

The draw for the knockout round play-offs, for the clubs finishing ninth to 24th, will take place on 30 January, 2026, with the two legs of those ties set to be played on 17/18 and 24/25 February, 2026.

The draw for the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held on 27 February, 2026, with match dates pencilled in as follows...

Round of 16: 10/11 and 17/18 March, 2026

Quarter-finals: 7/8 and 14/15 April, 2026

Semi-finals: 28/29 April and 5/6 May, 2026

Final: 30 May, 2026

Dates are subject to change.

The 2025/26 winners of the UEFA Champions League will earn a place in the 2026/27 Champions League League Phase, a place in the 2026 UEFA Super Cup as well as a place at the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup finals.

History repeated itself in remarkable fashion as our Under-18s snatched a 95th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 with Reading at Hotspur Way for the second time in less than two weeks on Wednesday – although there was a distinctly different feeling among the players and staff this time around following a below-par showing over the course of the game.

After Armend Muslika memorably struck in the fifth added minute to rescue a deserved point in our season curtain-raiser a week ago on Saturday, it was captain Elijah Upson who netted late on in this Under-18 Premier League Cup opener – incredibly, also with 95 on the watch – as we again recovered to secure a share of the spoils.

But the manner of the performance on this occasion left everyone with a sense of frustration at the final whistle. We’d found ourselves under pressure for long periods after Oliver Salter opened his account, with two goals in two minutes from Reading substitute Ainsley Covus turning the tie around after the break.

You could sense that coming, although to our credit we found some renewed impetus in the last few moments, new signing Conall Glancy impressive on his debut with fellow substitute Toju Wellspring – an Under-16s player – making a big impact in the middle. Indeed, it was his superb cross that saw Upson power home a header in the last couple of minutes to put our first point on the board in Group H – the defender earning redemption in the process after being sent off in the previous draw with the Royals – but with further matches against Burnley and Derby County still to come, we’re likely to need maximum points from here on in if we’re to reach the knockout phase.

Salter marked his first start at this level with his first goal inside five minutes, running onto Ronny Moncur’s cut-back from the right to plant a low shot into the net. He could have doubled his tally moments later after a great solo run, but teased his effort just wide.

Reading started to assert themselves on the game soon afterwards, their captain Larry Omoregie having a couple of near-misses before seeing an effort on the counter ruled out for offside. Omari Bailey coaxed a flying save out of our goalkeeper Blake Irow at the start of the second half before George Booth slid wide as the Royals stayed on the offensive. Their pressure eventually told as Covus volleyed Ryan Zie’s cross in off the far post on 63 minutes before pouncing on a mistake at the back 60 seconds later to clip the ball over the stranded Irow for 2-1.

Omoregie was a whisker away with an audacious long-range lob while Irow produced a superb save to deny Covus his hat-trick with nine minutes remaining, but our substitutes – as was the case in our league win at Norwich City on Saturday – made an impact and we started to play forward more in the closing stages. Glancy produced some nice footwork to set up Muslika for a shot in the box, but he saw his effort blocked with Salter also denied on the follow-up.

With the wind whipping up, we kept probing and finally conjured up an equaliser in added time, Wellspring’s excellent delivery from the right powerfully headed home by Upson. We still had time to win it, but Reading closed ranks and the spoils were shared.

‘Missing some of the non-negotiables’

Interim Under-18s Coach Joe Staunton felt the overall performance needed to be better despite the late equaliser, telling SPURSPLAY: “We were disappointing today. We were lacklustre with the ball at times, there were quite a few technical turnovers and unfortunately we were missing some of the non-negotiables in terms of working hard, picking up second balls and running back when we were required to do so.

“Although we managed to turn the game around and get something at the end of it, we’re disappointed with the way it went. I thought we were fortunate to be 1-0 up at half-time and in the second half, we weren’t able to take control. In giving away two cheap goals, it cost us an opportunity and we had to work ever-so hard to get something out of the game at the end.”

Joao Palhinha has been named the Premier League's Player of the Matchweek after his imperious display against Manchester City.

Making his full league debut for the Club at the Etihad Stadium as we ran out 2-0 winners to continue our 100 per cent start to the new campaign, Joao picked up where he left off in the top flight with a display full of tackles and interceptions.

Having made more tackles than any other player in the Premier League during his two years at Fulham (2022-2024) - Joao made 300 tackles in two seasons, 109 more than any other player - he added another four to that in the win in Manchester on Saturday.

Incredibly, despite spending an entire year away for England's top flight with Bayern in the Bundesliga, only two players have managed to overtake the midfielder in terms of the number of tackles made - Chelsea's Moises Caicedo (305) and Everton's Idrissa Gueye (303).

But Joao has much more than tackles and interceptions to his game, as Saturday showed - the Portugal international getting himself into the Manchester City box once we had turned over possession to fire our second goal home. That was goal number 850 on the road for us in the Premier League.

And now our number six has been honoured for his efforts at the Etihad - and it is all thanks to your votes!

Yesterday, we put a call out to you the Spurs faithful to support Joao and cast a vote for him to become the Premier League's Player of the matchweek - and that is exactly what you did.

Having already named him your HSBC Player of the Match, you voted for the midfielder in your droves to a point where he ultimately won the contest by more than 10 per cent.

Joao took home 31% of the vote, edging Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha (22%) and Arsenal's Jurrien Timber (17%).

And it now means we have won each of the first two iterations of the prize with Richarlison having scooped the honour last week.

Congratulations, Joao!

Watch Joao's first goal for the Club