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Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham Hotspur Preview: Mutated DNA
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- Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham Hotspur Preview: Mutated DNA
The oddest transfer window in recent memory has finally concluded and the Tottenham Hotspur squad list looks completely different than it did four months ago. Millions upon millions of pounds have been spent on nearly every area of the pitch, and regardless of if these were the right players to acquire, on paper just about every position has been strengthened to some degree. This is a brand new team.
But until these newcomers are fully integrated into the side, the actual performance on the pitch might continue to look like it did four months ago (and most of the months preceding that as well). Last weekend's defeat to Newcastle was a little better than the season opener, but there are few positives to take from back-to-back losses to start the year with five goals conceded to zero scored.
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The quest for victory continues with a trip to the City Ground. Forest lost its opener to Leeds after giving up an 88th-minute winner, then lost to Leeds at home again three days later in the League Cup. A 2-2 draw at Anfield last weekend was more encouraging, and one points through two matches is more than Spurs can claim, but this is a chance to do something.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, September 5
Time: 10:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UK
Location: The City Ground, Nottinghamshire
TV: NBCSN/Peacock (US)
After four straight league wins upon Forest's promotion in 2022/23, it has now turned to four consecutive losses for Tottenham in this fixture. It is odd to think back to a summer ago when it felt like even securing one transfer was an impossible feat, and indeed missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White made the pair of 3-0 thrashings feel even worse, especially the pseudo relegation six-pointer.
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Optimistically closing the window
Even with Savio fully accepting The Tottenham Way and immediately injuring himself, there are enough incoming players now that the starting XI really should look completely foreign to a season ago. Simply swapping in new players is not some sort of magical solution, but these handpicked additions by Roberto De Zerbi surely cannot all flop their way to another relegation-level season.
It will take time for everyone to gel, but there already have been encouraging signs from players like Savio, Omar Marmoush, Mateus Fernandes, and Jan Paul van Hecke, which should only get better and better. At some point the conversation has to go from potential improvements to tangible results, and though it is only Matchweek 3, it feels like time to start enjoying some of the benefits.
Brentford and Newcastle might not be Top Four contenders, but this weekend should be the most winnable to date. The home side also made plenty of changes this summer and is still figuring out how all of the new pieces fit together, as well as adjusting to life without Elliot Anderson. If both sides are still a little disjointed, I think De Zerbi can feel a little more positive about this one.
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Pessimistically facing the wall
Like De Zerbi, Oliver Glasner received his share of reinforcements this summer, and that poses a different sort of threat for Tottenham this weekend. While contests against aggressive pressers have not exactly gone to plan just yet, theoretically it is against this sort of system that Spurs will eventually find success (assuming the players integrate into the system correctly, etc etc).
However, Forest offers an alternative challenge, as the front line is less likely to all out swarm the ball and will force Spurs to work their way up the pitch more strategically, as opposed to being able to draw the opposition out of alignment. This all culminates with a difficult task near the box, as Tottenham has yet to prove it can really carve through a compact block, which Glasner will likely be happy to deploy.
Meanwhile, De Zerbi's defense continues to look leakier than expected and could struggle against the arriving Liam Delap and Daniel Munoz, and of course, Gibbs-White. Forest will love to run on a counter, and become very dangerous on set pieces, setting up the recipe to continue exploiting what has plagued Spurs through the first couple weeks.
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Realistically just needing a win
Tottenham is not going to lose every match this season, but it does feel like three in a row would be quite an inauspicious start, regardless of how disjointed the lineups have been amidst all of the summer transitions, World Cup hangovers, and carryovered injuries. At some point, good teams just need to win, and while Spurs might not currently be a good team, they kind of are supposed to be?
One's opinion on this outrageous crop of transfers will vary significantly depending on the forum and/or group chat of choice, but objectively it is completely fair to expect significantly improved results if the club is going to invest this sort of money into players that are decidedly win-now. I keep caveating that it is early in this journey, but that excuse rapidly loses weight after every defeat.
So yea, please win. I have no clue who is healthy or not, I have no clue whether more newcomers will make their debuts, and I have no clue what else there is even to say at this point. I have begged for wins for most of 2026, and while the season is new, the needs are not. De Zerbi got his wishes, and the transfer window is finally closed. He has some runway, but no need to abuse it.
