Tottenham Hotspur are three games into their Premier League season and still waiting for a win. Still waiting, too, for a goal. For a club that spent big and talked bigger over the summer, the silence in front of goal is starting to feel loud.
The campaign opened with a jolt: a 3-0 defeat at Brentford that stripped away any early-season optimism in brutal fashion. That was followed by the first home league outing, a chance to reset at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Instead, Newcastle United arrived, controlled the key moments and walked away 2-0 winners. Two games, two losses, no goals. The mood turned quickly.
Roberto De Zerbi did at least see his side collect their first point last time out. A goalless draw with Nottingham Forest stopped the bleeding, but did little to ease concerns about a misfiring attack. Spurs still look like a team searching for a rhythm, a pattern, any kind of fluency in the final third.
This is not what £300million of summer spending is supposed to look like. The club threw money at the squad after last season’s flirtation with relegation, a brush with the drop that alarmed everyone from the boardroom to the stands. The brief was clear: no repeat. A stronger squad, a stronger season. Yet for now, cohesion has lagged behind ambition.
The pressure to find a formula that actually wins matches sits squarely on De Zerbi’s shoulders. He knows the context. He knows the outlay. He knows that a side of this cost cannot go week after week without scoring in the league. Everton’s visit on Saturday feels like more than just another early-season fixture; it feels like a test of whether this project can settle or whether the anxiety deepens.
Everton arrive with a steadier, if unspectacular, start behind them. David Moyes has guided his team to one win and two draws so far, including a dramatic 2-2 with Manchester United in their last league outing. They look competitive, awkward, capable of dragging opponents into uncomfortable games. Exactly the kind of visitors a fragile home side does not want.
The match kicks off at 5.30pm UK time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For those not making the trip to north London, Sky Sports will carry the game live, with coverage starting from 5pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. Given the storylines gathering around Spurs, it is the sort of game that invites a national audience.
If there is a reason for home optimism, it lies in history. Tottenham’s record against Everton in north London is imposing. Across their last 17 home meetings with the Toffees, Spurs have lost just once. They have reeled off five straight home wins in the fixture since a 1-0 defeat back in September 2020, turning this into one of their more reliable Premier League matchups.
That history includes one of the most significant results of last season. On the final day of the campaign, Tottenham edged Everton 1-0 at home. It was a tense, narrow win, but it carried enormous weight: it ensured Spurs would not be relegated. The relief that day said everything about how close they had come to disaster.
Now Everton return to the same stadium, under a different kind of spotlight. Spurs are not fighting for survival this time, but for credibility, for momentum, for a first league goal and a first league win. The spending has been done. The excuses have worn thin.
North London expects a response. Whether this squad can finally deliver one will be clear by Saturday night.
