Tottenham are at the bottom of the standings Premier League After five matches. They did not win a single match, scoring only two goals, conceding eight and picking up two points.
It is the club’s worst start to a Premier League season after five matches, surpassing 2008-09 when they also picked up two points but with a slightly better goal difference of -3.
They have also lost 22 home league games since the start of the 2024-25 season, just one fewer than they have suffered over the previous four seasons combined.
However, the league table only tells part of the story.
Through their first five league games, Tottenham have had 71 shots, including 19 on target, with an average possession of 60.4%. Their expected goals of 4.47 is more than double the two goals they actually scored. On the other hand, they conceded eight goals out of 9.22 expected goals.
Offensive production remains poor. An average of 0.89 xG per game is nowhere near the level expected from a team that spent more than £300m rebuilding its squad in the summer.
The numbers show that the team is capable of reaching useful positions.
The first match, which the team lost to Brentford 3-0, was bad. Tottenham took just nine shots and generated just 0.47 xG, while Brentford produced 25 shots and more than four times their expected goal value.
The next three league games produced more encouraging offensive numbers.
Against Newcastle, Tottenham lost 2-0 despite having 17 shots and six on target. They had 57.5% possession and created 1.05 xG. At Nottingham Forest, they had almost 60% possession and made 11 attempts but failed to put a single shot on target.
Against Everton, they had 62.3% of possession, taking 14 shots and 37 touches inside the opponent’s penalty area. They didn’t register. Then came Aston Villa.
Tottenham lost 3-2, but made 20 shots and seven on goal, controlled the ball 63.8% and won 11 corner kicks.
The problem is conversion. Tottenham’s first Premier League goal did not arrive until his 67th shot of the season, when Conor Gallagher finally scored against Villa.
This ended a 492-minute drought dating back to Joao Baleña’s goal against Everton on the final day of last season.
This is a serious offensive problem, although it can change quickly with better finishing, a stable forward line and the incorporation of new players.
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position 1, 2, 3, 4: Promotion – Champions League (League Stage)
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position 5: Promotion – Europa League (League Stage)
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position 18, 19, 20: Relegation – Championship
Rebuilding takes time
The extent of Tottenham’s overhaul in the summer is the main focus of any assessment of their start.
More than £300m was spent, and arrivals included Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Jean-Paul van Hecke, Marcos Sensi, Andy Robertson, Savio and Omar Marmoush.
Savio and Marmoush were signed after the opening day defeat to Brentford, so two of their most important attacking additions were not available for the first game.
The defensive unit has also changed. Robertson, Sensei and Van Hecke arrived while Christian Romero, Jed Spence and Guglielmo Vicario departed. Antonin Kinski became the first goalkeeper.
This was a fundamental change in direction rather than a routine transfer window, which usually consisted of adding weapons to an already existing firing squad.
De Zerbe admitted as much after the opening round defeat to Brentford when he said: “We’re not a team yet.” Four new defenders started that game and the team was still being assembled at the time.
Opta’s analysis of the first four matches found that Tottenham made 12 changes to their starting lineup from one match to the next, more than they made in the first four matches of the Premier League season.
They were also the 12th non-promoted team in Premier League history to give away 20 or more starts in their first four matches to players who had not played for the club in the previous season.
Of the previous 11 teams, only five improved their league position from one season to the next.
This record does not guarantee Spurs improvement. It just goes to show how strange their opening weeks were.
There’s another reason we expect the team to look different later in the season: the Spurs’ offense last year was already subpar.
Tottenham scored just 48 Premier League goals in the 2025-26 season, their lowest total of the previous four seasons, while finishing with a -9 goal deficit.
Set-pieces carried a large portion of the attacking workload. 36.9% of Tottenham’s expected goals and 39.6% of their actual goals came from set plays, the highest percentages in the league.
This path has been reduced due to the departure of players such as Palenha and Romero. The new Spurs are designed to create more through dominant possession and positional play rather than relying heavily on dead ball situations.
De Zerbe’s record at Brighton provides some evidence of what Spurs are trying to build.
Since their first Premier League outing in October 2022, Brighton have averaged 1.97 expected goals without penalties per game, the best figure in the division over that period at the time.
His first full season ended with Brighton finishing sixth, scoring 72 goals and collecting 62 points, all club records at the time.
There were clear risks in his approach. Brighton regularly invited pressure in their own half before attempting to play through it. Over the course of nearly two seasons under De Zerbe, only three Premier League teams had a higher turnover rate than Brighton, while only two teams conceded more high turnovers that led to opposition shots.
This danger was evident at Tottenham as well. The difference is that De Zerbe now had a group specially recruited to implement his ideas.
Styles from last season
De Zerbe is not starting from scratch at Tottenham. He already had seven Premier League Games in which he took charge at the end of last season.
That period resulted in three victories, two draws and two defeats. He collected 11 points and kept Tottenham in the Premier League on the final day with a 1-0 win over Everton.
So far this season, De Zerbe has taken two points from five league games, raising questions about whether his methods are translating quickly enough into results.
He received full financial backing for the pre-season and a strengthened squad around his tactical preferences. Tottenham remain vulnerable when games get chaotic and struggle to convert long periods of possession into goals.
Tottenham’s first four league games produced just 2.22xG from open play, the lowest figure in the Premier League at that stage. The set-piece xG value was just 1.22, also among the lowest numbers in the division.
This means that the argument cannot simply be that Tottenham have been unlucky in front of goal.
There are indications that the side is still getting used to the new regime. James Madison is an important example.
Maddison returned to team training shortly before the Aston Villa match after a long absence and played just 15 minutes against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
His return is important because Spurs lacked creativity in central areas. The fit Maddison gives Di Zerbe another player capable of controlling the tempo and finding passes between the lines.
Tottenham’s next five matches will reveal everything
The international break gives De Zerbe another period to work with the team.
Tottenham will not play another Premier League match until October 10, when they travel to Manchester United. They will then face Coventry City at home, Chelsea away, Crystal Palace at home and Leeds United away before November.
There is little margin for more bad results, but there is time for the team to settle down.
Savio has already started in four of Tottenham’s five league matches. Marmoush played regularly. Tonali became a central figure in the midfield. Madison returned to the group. Muhammad Quddus is finally fit again.
Spurs create more space than their position suggests, averaging 60.4% of possession and 14.2 shots per game over their first five games. They made 37 touches inside Everton’s penalty area and made 20 shots against Villa. Their 4.47 xG is not remotely compatible with just two goals unless the final ball and the final ball pose major problems.
The defensive numbers are less alarming than the score, too. Eight goals conceded from 9.22 xGA suggests that Spurs have not consistently overshadowed the quality of their shell. Individual mistakes and lapses have proven costly.
Five games is also a small sample compared to a full season. Tottenham itself offers a historical reminder. They were bottom of the Premier League after five matches in the 2008-09 season and eventually finished eighth.
This should not be used as a prediction for De Zerbe’s team, the circumstances are completely different. It shows how quickly the early schedule can change.
The more important question is whether Tottenham’s current squad has the ingredients to make a significant improvement.
The offense should become much more productive. Two goals from 71 shots cannot continue. The defense has to get rid of cheap fouls. De Zerbi also has to prove that his possession-heavy style can survive the physical demands of the Premier League.
