Tottenham Seek First Points Against Nottingham Forest

Tottenham walk back into Premier League duty today still empty-handed, chasing their first points of the season on a potentially awkward trip to Nottingham Forest.

It already feels like a campaign that has started with a limp.

Roberto De Zerbi’s plans have been shredded by fitness problems, and he has not hidden his frustration. The club’s pre-season tour, he admits, has left his squad short of the physical edge needed for the opening weeks. The evidence is all over the treatment room.

Even the new arrivals have not escaped. Savio, the £85m signing from Manchester City and the headline act of the summer, has already had a muscle issue to contend with. There is at least one ray of light: De Zerbi confirmed the Brazilian is fit again and back in contention.

His impact has been instant when available. Savio came off the bench on his debut against Charlton last week, scoring and setting up another to underline why Spurs paid so heavily for him. Then the momentum stalled. A problem picked up in training kept him out of the matchday squad for the defeat to Newcastle.

The bigger worry, though, hangs over James Maddison. The playmaker fractured his shoulder on the opening weekend against Brentford, a brutal early blow for Tottenham’s creative heartbeat. He missed the loss to Newcastle and is a major doubt for the trip to the City Ground, leaving a gaping hole in De Zerbi’s attacking blueprint.

Transfer deadline day at least brought fresh options. Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo were both registered in time for this weekend, giving Spurs a late injection of pace and defensive depth on paper. Only one of them actually makes it onto the team sheet.

Adarabioyo, despite being available, does not feature in the matchday squad. Mudryk does, but only just. The Ukrainian has not played a competitive game since November 2024 after serving a doping ban, and De Zerbi has been blunt about his condition: at this stage, Mudryk has no more than half an hour in his legs.

So he starts on the bench, waiting, as Tottenham head to Forest still patched up, still searching for rhythm, and still looking for that first spark to ignite their season.