Tottenham’s Premier League relegation fears are real – shocking stats, surprising subs and ‘seven finals’ in focus | Soccer News

Tottenham have parted company with head coach Igor Tudor, with their home loss to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest just before the international break marking their last game in charge of the north London club.

The clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was billed as the biggest game of their season – and Spurs were beaten 3-0. Their Premier League relegation fears are real.

West Ham’s defeat at Aston Villa meant Spurs stayed just outside the drop zone for the time being, but they slipped to 17th, were booed again by their supporters and now Forest have created a gap. It was another miserable day for the club as their crisis deepened…

Sunday, April 12, 1 p.m

Kick off 14:00

The horror stats – look away now Spurs fans…

Tottenham have not won any of their last 13 league games (D5 L8), equaling their second-longest league winless run in their history (also 13 in November 1912). The record of 16 was set in 1935 and could easily be broken.

Teams in a relegation battle usually rely on home comfort to get them out of jail, but the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a graveyard for this Spurs side.

Spurs have the worst home record in the Premier League this season, having won just two of their 16 home games. The Forest defeat – their fourth successive home league defeat – means they are on an eight-match home league winless run.

This home defeat was even more shocking for Spurs as it was only the third time Tottenham had lost by three or more goals at home against a team that started the day 17th or lower in the Premier League table. So much for the big pre-match welcome the fans gave the team.

Spurs currently sit 17th themselves, having failed to win a league game in 2026, having won just two of their last 22 league games.

In fact, Tottenham have won just 30 points from 31 Premier League games this season – at three points/win all-time, this is their joint-lowest return after 31 games of a league campaign, alongside 1914/15 (30).
Declan Olley

Vicario was again booed by his own fans

Surely a goalkeeper has never been booed by his own supporters in so many different games as Guglielmo Vicario has done this season? Against Fulham, against Crystal Palace and now against Forest, he felt the anger in the game from the stands.

Vicario will undergo hernia surgery. Was it right that he played against Forest? Such was the disaster of Antonin Kinsky’s brief cameo to Atletico Madrid, Spurs clearly felt they had no choice.

But whether or not Vicario’s injury hampered his performances, there is no escaping the fact that he should have done better for Forest’s decisive second goal, when Morgan Gibbs-White’s shot went straight through him.

His surgery was timed to cause the minimum disruption to Spurs’ season. They do not face Sunderland again on April 12. But whether it’s Vicario or Kinsky in goal for the trip to Wearside, a big question mark will hang over the Spurs goalkeeper at the Stadium of Light.
Peter Smith

Van de Ven a surprise sub if Spurs lose their way

When Micky van de Ven did not come out for the second half, the assumption was that the Tottenham defender was injured. He played the first half at left-back rather than his usual centre-back role, but with Spurs trailing, surely his leadership and experience would not be thrown away?

The reaction of Bruno Saltor, Spurs assistant coach, when he was asked about Van de Ven’s condition, was a shock in the press conference: “No, it was a sub with the intention of giving more dynamic on the left side and having more legs forward,” he said. “I thought it was a tactical sub.”

Spurs sacking one of their best players was a strange tactic. Couldn’t Kevin Danso make a way and allow Van de Ven to come in if there was a desire to play Destiny Udogie at left back?

Djed Spence, who played the first 45 at right-back with Pedro Porro in front of him in a 4-4-2, was also tactically withdrawn at half-time. Lucas Bergvall took on an unfamiliar role on the right side of midfield. “Everything was tactical,” says Bruno.

The result was that Spurs gave up all the authority they had in the first half. Yes, they were behind at half-time, but Igor Jesus’ goal came against the run of play. They hit the woodwork twice in that first half. “In the second half we lose confidence, lose the ball, concede another stupid goal,” says captain Cristian Romero. It turned out to be an expensive intervention from the dugout.
Peter Smith

‘Seven finals’ await Spurs

Romero labeled his team’s remaining matches as “seven finals”.

The defender tells Sky Sports: “It’s painful, it’s a bad day, but the most important thing is to go away to nationals, come back here and have seven finals.”

After a three-week break, the first of the “seven finals” comes on April 12 as Spurs travel to Sunderland, live on Sky Sports.

But a trip to the Stadium of Light feels like a nightmare next game, especially with Sunderland buoyed by their Tyne-Wear derby win at Newcastle on Sunday.

Looking at the games left for Spurs, two in particular look crucial to their survival hopes: Wolves away on April 25 and Leeds at home on May 9.

If Spurs are not safe after that Leeds game, two challenging games await.

Chelsea away is always a notoriously difficult game for Spurs, and the Blues will smell blood, making it even more difficult.

Then their final game of the season is at home to European qualification chasers Everton.

It’s going to be an extraordinarily nerve-wracking two months ahead for Spurs, with their Premier League status always in jeopardy.
Declan Olley