- Published
Four games into the season, Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City are the only sides yet to score in the Premier League.
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Hotspur → publish → League
Spurs have brought in £320m worth of talent – a bulk of that in attacking reinforcements – so why are they struggling to score?
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they → bring → reinforcements
We analysed the tactics Roberto de Zerbi is trying to implement and what potential fixes may look like.
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fixes → analyse → what
Understanding De Zerbi's philosophy
While the Premier League looks different to when De Zerbi left Brighton in 2024, the Italian has shown clear signs of adapting while retaining his tactical principles.
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Italian → understand → principles
De Zerbi's sides entice opponents to apply pressure – often through slowing down play and passing the ball backwards.
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sides → entice → ball
They then react to the opponents' movements by speeding up play, looking to take advantage of the spaces behind the pressing players through direct passing or powerful carrying.
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They → react → passing
In a 2020 coaching seminar, De Zerbi explained: "The stronger the pressure of the opponent, the more vertical [our] action becomes.
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action → explain → opponent
[The fewer opponents behind], the easier it becomes to go and score."
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it → become → ?
We have seen De Zerbi's forwards in bigger spaces facing fewer defenders on numerous occasions this season already.
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forwards → see → occasions
Turning build-up play to goals, however, requires many parts to come together.
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Turning → turn → parts
How have Spurs set up so far?
Spurs' shape in possession can be hard to read but it often looks like a 2-3-2-3.
The holding midfielder, usually Rodrigo Bentancur, anchors the midfield in front of Spurs' two central defenders with this trio remaining fairly fixed.
The 2-3-2-3 shape generally stays the same but there is rotation between the wingers, full-backs and central midfielders.
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shape → set → wingers
In rotating, players are encouraged to maintain the side's shape by swapping zones with their team-mates – filling gaps as they arise.
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they → rotate → gaps
On top of these positional rules, De Zerbi gives his sides principles to implement.
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Zerbi → give → principles
A lot of what he is doing worked well during his time at Marseille - from 2024 to 2026 - where they averaged 2.3 goals per game.
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they → do → game
It might not be happening for De Zerbi yet this season at Tottenham.
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It → happen → Tottenham
Glimpses of Spurs' central play but work required
De Zerbi encourages his players to play centrally.
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Zerbi → require → players
This has two effects.
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This → have → effects
When Spurs' centre-backs are on the ball, opposing midfielders and forwards begin to push up, creating space for Spurs' attacking midfielders between the lines.
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midfielders → oppose → lines
The other effect this central play has is that it can draw the defending team in-field, which opens up space in the wide areas for Spurs' direct wingers to attack.
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wingers → have → areas
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When playing these passes into the middle, a few things have to align.
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things → play → middle
Players receiving the pass have to be comfortable doing so under pressure and naturally, some are more suited to these constraints.
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some → receive → constraints
Recognising that Sandro Tonali is better in big space facing forwards, we have seen him rotate positions with Archie Gray, who starts at right-back - a sensible tweak.
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who → recognise → back
Although not his natural position, the 20-year-old has managed in these tight spaces and appears to understand the tactical demands of his manager.
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old → manage → manager
The return of James Maddison, who came back from a shoulder injury for last Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie at Liverpool, will provide De Zerbi with a player better suited to these spaces and in turn help get Spurs into attacking zones more often.
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who → come → 2
Individual player quality aside, much of the success of this approach will come down to players internalising their manager's instructions.
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players → come → instructions
And it will take time for some of the squad to unlearn the habits they developed under previous coaches.
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they → take → coaches
At the start of last season under Thomas Frank, Spurs built up primarily down the flanks, almost skipping the centre of the pitch entirely.
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Spurs → build → pitch
The logic then was to avoid the risk associated with turnovers in the middle of the pitch.
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logic → avoid → pitch
De Zerbi is actively coaching an unorthodox style that goes against these instructions - but getting players to be brave enough to play in congested areas may take some time.
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players → coach → time
Spurs' build-up has regularly got them in positions behind the opposition midfield by attacking quickly after they are pressed.
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they → get → midfield
Turning these great attacking situations into goals has been one of Spurs' biggest issues.
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Turning → turn → issues
The first is the ability to recognise the best pass available.
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first → recognise → pass
This depends the second element - the movement of players ahead of them.
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This → depend → them
Thirdly, players need to have the ability to execute the pass.
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players → need → pass
Spurs' biggest bottleneck so far has been in players either failing to recognise or opting not to play through balls in behind.
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players → fail → balls
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The attacking runs, particularly from Omar Marmoush, have generally been good but passes haven't always followed.
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passes → attack → Marmoush
Gray has attempted to feed passes down the line but Spurs have not done this regularly more centrally.
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Spurs → attempt → this
Pedro Porro, known for his ability to create chances, took up a more central role in possession for Spain this summer as they won the World Cup.
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they → know → Cup
As he returns, his natural tendencies, which suit these tactics, may help Spurs create more goalscoring chances.
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Spurs → return → chances
They might then get some of the joy that De Zerbi's forwards had at Marseille.
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forwards → get → Marseille
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
