Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham continue their battle to avoid relegation against a Fulham side that have enjoyed a succession of good results against them of late. BBC Sport takes a look at the key themes ahead of the London derby at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham have had a week to get over suffering a second 4-1 defeat of the season to arch-rivals Arsenal. That chastening loss was a baptism of fire for new interim boss Igor Tudor, who admitted on Thursday that his job at hand is harder than he expected.

While little blame can be attached to Tudor for that defeat, Tottenham's despondent fans were left to stew on the Gunners securing their biggest away win at Spurs since 1978 and winning both north London league derbies in a season by three or more goals for only the second time after the 1934-35 campaign.

Tottenham are the only side in the top-flight without a league victory in 2026 with their winless run now standing at nine matches.

Only during the chaotic reign of Ossie Ardiles in early 1994 have they gone 10 Premier League fixtures without a win.

Tudor opted for a 3-5-2 formation against Arsenal that proved to be highly unsuccessful for his predecessor Thomas Frank. Spurs have won just one of their last 10 league games when playing with three centre-backs and none of their last six.

The Croat will be desperate to avoid becoming only the second Tottenham boss to lose his first two games in charge after Martin Jol, while it is unthinkable to Spurs supporters that he could become the first manager in Premier League history to concede four or more goals in his opening two matches.

Things are far more serene down by the Thames for Fulham. Their excellent 3-1 victory at Sunderland ended a three-match losing run in style and reignited their bid for European qualification.

Marco Silva's side head into Sunday's match full of confidence especially in light of their recent record against Tottenham. Three wins in their last four league meetings is as many as they managed in their previous 26 versus Spurs.

March has not been a happy hunting ground of late for the west Londoners with just four wins in their last 18 league games in the third month of the year. However, two of those victories have come in their last two home games with Tottenham.

Should they win, it would mark only their second ever league double over Spurs following the 2003-04 Premier League campaign.

Veteran striker Raul Jimenez took his top-flight tally for the season to eight goals with a brace at the Stadium of Light that encompassed a trademark header. Since arriving in the Premier League at the start of the 2018-19 season only three players have scored more top-flight goals with their head than the Mexican's 18.

His second came via a spot-kick, preserving his status of having the best 100% record in the Premier League of players to take 10 or more penalties with a perfect 13 from 13.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It seems ludicrous to describe a glamorous Champions League last-16 tie versus Atletico Madrid as a sideshow for any football club, but given the season Tottenham are having you'd forgive the north London club for not wanting the hassle.

The priority for Tottenham interim head coach Igor Tudor is clear: avoid relegation.

Of course, the Croat will relish going up against Diego Simeone, while a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League will have supporters dreaming of a second successive European triumph - regardless of how unlikely that sounds.

But in many ways going deeper into the European competition will represent no more than a bonus for Tottenham, who have far bigger fish to fry domestically.

Of course, an extended run in the Champions League could inject a much needed confidence boost for the players after what has been a dreadful campaign so far.

But make no mistake, Tottenham's priority is the Premier League - or more pertinently, staying in it.

Image source, Getty Images

The Champions League last-16 draw has been made and a route to the final has been plotted for all six Premier League sides in the competition.

The first legs will be played on the 10 and 11 March, the second on 17 and 18 March.

Here are the ties:

• Atalanta v Bayern Munich

• Atletico Madrid v Tottenham

• Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal

• Bodo/Glimt v Sporting

• Galatasaray v Liverpool

• Newcastle v Barcelona

• Paris St-Germain v Chelsea

• Real Madrid v Manchester City

Get live reaction and consider your route to the final here

Bardi
Fan writer

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In the wake of every disaster, people search for the moment it all went wrong. As our fiercest rivals celebrated another derby win last Sunday, the Tottenham fanbase was left scouring the wreckage.

To outsiders, the scene looks surreal. They might blame a referee, a diving centre-back, or simply conclude that Arsenal are the better team. But we know the truth: the issues that got us here run much deeper than a 90-minute failure.

For a half-decade, this club has ignored the fissures splintering across the hull of the "Good Ship Tottenham". We aimed high without ever performing the maintenance necessary for the voyage.

Last year, the warning lights flashed but because we triumphed in Bilbao, the board dismissed it as a faulty sensor - arrogantly ploughing on into the storm.

Now, with the "plughole" of the Championship looming, we have moved past worry into existential dread.

The cliche that Spurs are "too good to go down" has been exposed as a myth. The reality is simpler: Spurs aren't very good.

Our club has been driven to the brink by corporate suits incapable of grasping the gravity of their responsibility. Tottenham is an institution - one of the Premier League's "Founding Five" - but institutions crumble when they aren't cared for.

This negligence isn't new. It precedes the dismal appointment of Thomas Frank and the failure to support Ange Postecoglou. It goes back to the decision to sell Harry Kane without a plan, and even further to 2018, when the club decided building a stadium was more important than building a team.

Our squad is now built in the board's image: fragile, incomplete and out of touch with reality.

While West Ham, Leeds and Nottingham Forest look built for the relegation grind, we are left hoping they simply "double-fault" to let us off the hook.

I am frightened. Relegation will haunt us for a generation.

The people that led us here won't go hungry, though - even as they drag this iconic institution to Loftus Road on a Tuesday night.

Find more from Bardi at The Extra Inch - a Spurs podcast, external

Daniel Austin
BBC Sport senior journalist

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Fans of the Premier League's six wealthiest clubs are paying an average of £74 per ticket for each match they attend, while ticket revenues are soaring, according to data from a new report.

The Uefa European club finance and investment landscape report shows that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham earned an average of 19% more money from selling tickets for home matches in 2025 than in 2024.

Among Premier League clubs, Arsenal made the most per fan, per match, earning an average of £89 per ticket.

The biggest increase in ticket income was earned by Liverpool, who made 27% more than the previous year, for a total of £120m.

The figures include matches in all European and domestic competitions and comprise the average price for general admission and hospitality tickets.

The data shows all 20 Premier League clubs made a combined total of £920m from ticket sales last year - an increase of £90m from the previous year.

That total is almost double the total of £514m in ticket income earned by Spanish clubs.

Nine Premier League clubs feature in Europe's top 25 for gate revenue, with the wealthiest six all in the top 11.

The report shows the 20 Premier League clubs are well ahead of their European rivals when it comes to overall revenue, earning a combined total of £6.5bn.

That is almost double the revenue of the next highest division, Germany's Bundesliga, whose 18 clubs made a total of £3.4bn.

Of the 25 clubs who generated the most revenue, 11 were English.

But those revenues did not mean the Premier League clubs turned a collective profit, as only five made a profit while 15 made losses and across the division, there was a combined pre-tax loss of £559m.

Chelsea - with £355m - made the second-highest loss in European football history while Spurs (£129m) were the the third-biggest losers in 2025, with Aston Villa fifth (£85m).

Read Dan's piece in full

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

St Totteringham's Day and when it could happen has been the subject of several questions sent in via our Ask Me Anything service recently.

St Totteringham's Day is an unofficial celebration for Arsenal fans that marks the date on which the Gunners are guaranteed to finish higher in the table than Tottenham.

Arsenal can mathematically secure their finish above their north London rivals on Sunday, 1 March with 10 games to spare in the Premier League season.

Spurs can achieve a maximum of 62 points if they win their remaining 11 games, meaning if Igor Tudor's side draw or lose against Fulham, whatever happens at Arsenal will not matter.

If Spurs do beat Fulham and Arsenal also beat Chelsea at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta's side will secure their earliest 'St Totteringham's Day' on record.

The earliest it has happened so far came on 9 March 2008 when an Arsene Wenger-led Arsenal finished the season 37 points ahead of their rivals.

The portmanteau is believed to have originated from Arsenal supporter Julian Shulman on fan website Arseweb in the early 2000s. It gained popularity during a period when the Gunners finished higher than Spurs for 21 consecutive seasons between 1995 and 2016.

The date has also been referred to as St Totteridge and was referenced in the Arsenal matchday programme as early as 2008.

On social media, people have also referred to it as St Hotspurs Day.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

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Serbia international Dusan Vlahovic favours a switch to Barcelona when his Juventus contract ends this summer, although Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea remain in the hunt to sign the 26-year-old forward. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Tottenham boss Igor Tudor has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage (14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Tudor confirmed both Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso are back and available, while Micky van de Ven has a "small problem in his little finger" but is "OK".

• Reflecting on Sunday's defeat by Arsenal, he said: "The less we speak, the better it is. It's about focusing on the daily work in training to climb up the table."

• Tudor was asked about a clip that surfaced on social media of Van de Ven appearing to ignore him during the North London derby defeat: "I saw that, but it was not an instruction to Micky, it was an instruction to the team, to go up. It was not about Micky. It was about the team coming up. We want to go up, because we want to play this style, that we press high, but the team is complicated at this moment. It's too much for them. So that's why it was the frustration of all that, but this is part of it, nothing special happened. He's a fantastic professional and a fantastic guy, he would not do something like this."

• Tudor was asked if the job as Tottenham's interim head coach was harder than he expected: "Probably yes. I agree with you. Very tough, but it is what I said before, I don't change my opinion. That is it. So daily work, focus on all things we need to do - physical condition, mental condition, performance and waiting on [injured] players to come back. So we need to be focused on us, what we can do, less thinking about others and it should be good."

• When asked whether he would go with a back three or experiment with his formation, Tudor implied points were more of an immediate focus than implementing his ethos. He said: "You need to be smart to understand deeper the moment and the way how to take the points, even not looking to the style now at this moment. So the style I need to be in the second moment, just because now it's a question of life and death, if I can say that in that way, sportingly, let's figure that out."

• On Friday's Champions League round of 16 draw: "I don't think too much about the draw. It doesn't change for me anything. It's a beautiful competition to play, everyone wants to play."

• Tudor continued by referencing Spurs' injury crisis: "The problem is the lack of numbers we have in the team. There's the problem - if you need to play every three days with 10,12, 13. Also it's not only about spending physical energy but also mental energy when every game for us in the league is a final. Not an ideal situation."

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Tottenham's stretched squad was without a total of 11 players last weekend for the north London derby defeat by Arsenal, considerably more than any other Premier League club.

We asked you who you think Spurs need to return the most as Igor Tudor's team fight to get out of trouble in the coming months.

With just over half of the votes was midfielder Dejan Kulusevski, who has not played this season after undergoing surgery on his patella last May.

The Sweden international has no definitive time frame for his return and has been suffering with a prolonged injury in the knee, that former Spurs boss Thomas Frank called "complicated" only a few weeks ago.

Behind him with just over a quarter of the vote was James Maddison, who has also not played a game yet this season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in pre-season.

There is a possibility that Maddison could return before the end of the season, which would be a huge boost for Tudor and Spurs' midfield.

On the list of 11 players, Maddison (27%) and Kulusevski (52%) dominated, while 9% of fans think Mohammed Kudus is the biggest miss.

You can make your selection and see the result here

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham's heavy north London derby defeat by Arsenal on Sunday just confirmed what everyone already knew.

Igor Tudor's team are in serious trouble.

Perilously perched just four points above the Premier League relegation zone following the 4-1 home loss, Spurs have a multitude of issues to resolve.

They have not won a domestic league game in 2026 and only two since 26 October 2025, meaning that - aside from bottom club Wolves - 16th-placed Tottenham have the worst form in the division.

New interim head coach Tudor has a crippling injury list to contend with, plus a forthcoming Champions League last-16 tie to negotiate.

And all this is while he is attempting to implement new ideas and avoid the unthinkable scenario of dropping into the Championship.

Tottenham finished 17th last term, but were never really in danger of relegation as then-boss Ange Postecoglou juggled an injury-hit squad with a focus on Europe.

While their league form suffered, they still scored 64 times and the silver lining was a Europa League triumph over Manchester United last May, which also secured a coveted place in the Champions League.

However, their attacking output this season has been underwhelming and they would need to average 2.45 goals per game in their forthcoming fixtures to match the same tally as the previous campaign.

The long-term absences of Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have hardly helped matters and a stretched squad was without a total of 11 players last weekend, considerably more than any other Premier League club.

With nearly a starting XI of unavailable players, who do you think Spurs need to return the most?

Make your choice here

Read about whether Spurs are too big to go down here

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

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Tottenham paid Southampton more than £8m to sign Dean Richards in September 2001 and he made an instant impact at his new club.

The former Wolves defender scored 15 minutes into his debut against Manchester United - in a match perhaps best remembered for United turning a 3-0 half-time deficit into a 5-3 victory at White Hart Lane.

He was unable to feature in Spurs' run to the League Cup final that season, having appeared for the Saints earlier in the competition, but he was a regular fixture in the Tottenham side until the end of the 2003-04 campaign.

Sadly, Richards was forced to retire in March 2005 on medical advice, having suffered from headaches and dizzy spells for some time beforehand.

A club statement at the time said Richards had "undergone extensive tests" which "produced strong, conclusive medical evidence that it would be harmful to his long-term health to continue in the sport".

In all, Richards, who died exactly 15 years ago today, played 81 games for Spurs and scored four goals.

Image source, Getty Images

Thursday marks the 15-year anniversary of the death of former Wolves, Southampton and Tottenham defender Dean Richards.

Richards died on 26 February, 2011, aged 36, following a long illness. He had been forced to retire six years earlier because of ill health.

Richards, a cultured centre-back, began his career with his hometown club Bradford City before joining Wolves for a club-record fee in 1995.

After a four-year spell at Molineux, he moved to Southampton in 1999 and then Spurs in 2001.

A week after his death, Wolves and Tottenham met in a Premier League fixture at Molineux.

His widow and two sons, as well as representatives from his four former clubs, were present as the football world paid tribute to a player affectionately known as "Deano".

Image source, Corbis via Getty Images

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

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There have been a number of media reports, external outlining the calamitous cost that relegation would bring to Tottenham.

And the club would undoubtedly face a significant financial hit if they were to start 2026-27 in the second tier.

Broadcast, matchday and commercial incomes would all be squeezed, while the most recent wage bill sat at about £254m as opposed to the Championship average of £38m.

There would also be a knock-on effect on transfers, not only in the quality of players the club could attract but also in paying off £337m in outstanding instalments for current players.

BBC Sport's own analysis points to an estimated fall in annual revenue of about £261m as football finance expert Kieran Maguire said: "In 2023-24, the most Spurs generated an average of £84 per supporter per match, the highest figure in the Premier League.

"That figure would face significant downward pressure, not from the size of the crowd, but from what clubs can realistically charge.

"Corporate clients who pay a premium for a home fixture against Liverpool or Arsenal are unlikely to pay the same for a visit from Swansea.

"There is also great financial vulnerability around sponsorship. The front-of-shirt deal with AIA, worth about £40m a year almost certainly contains relegation clauses that could halve its value.

"The kit deal with Nike, estimated at £30m annually, is likely to take a smaller hit.

"Spurs supporters will still buy replica shirts regardless of division, but a reduction is likely. Broader sponsorship and partner agreements across the club would face similar issues."

He added: "For a club of Spurs' ambitions and financial scale, relegation would not simply be a short-term sporting setback. The economics of English football make recovery a multi-year project."

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

In Tottenham's remaining 11 Premier League games they will visit Wolves and have home fixtures against sides around them in the table - Crystal Palace, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

However, their record at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season is frankly abysmal, so can they expect to turn their form around against fellow strugglers?

With just two wins and only 10 points accrued from a possible 42, only Wolves have collected fewer points on home soil.

While sports analytics and data experts Opta place their chances of relegation at just 4.84%, worryingly for Spurs supporters their team have collected just 0.67 points per game since defeating Everton on 26 October.

And unless Tottenham can arrest their slump, that would equate to a further seven points, taking them to 36 on the final day of the season.

"I would be really surprised if they weren't able to fight their way out of it," former Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport.

"The games coming up are all huge. I think they will have just enough.

"The fact we are mentioning Spurs going down is unbelievable. It's absolutely ridiculous really.

"Whether you blame recruitment or the owners, it would be catastrophic for that club. I have heard some fans suggest going down could be the best thing. I just don't see that."

Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are interested in RB Leipzig's Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande - but a deal could be complicated by a dispute over who currently represents the 19-year-old. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Tottenham's owners are planning to rip up the club's rigid wage structure before a major overhaul of the squad this summer if the team avoid relegation. (Guardian), external

Juventus have opened discussions with Tottenham's Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, 29, but the Serie A club are also interested in Liverpool's 33-year-old Brazil international Alisson. (Gazzetta, via Standard), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Tottenham have four Premier League games remaining before next month's international break.

We asked you how many points you think Igor Tudor's men can get - and need - to steady the ship for the end of the season.

Here are some of your comments:

Andrew: Spurs need nine or 10 points from the next four matches. They have to win all the remaining home games. If they fail to get this then the pressure will be huge and not sure they have the grit to grind out results to avoid relegation.

Harry: The scoreline from Sunday flattered Arsenal massively given the disallowed goal and goalline clearance. Spurs looked a lot better after just a week with Tudor and should do the business against most of these clubs.

Atul: One win, two draws and one loss is the best Spurs can hope for. Anything less and I think they will drop.

Seb: We will lose them all.

JP: Minimum of six points from these games, else we're for the chop.

Colin: Spurs have four must-win games from now until the end of the season - Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Leeds - all at home - plus Wolves away. Win those and they stay up. Anything less than four wins from those games and the task of staying up becomes virtually impossible. Simple.

Jordan: It's been a tough time for Spurs - as a season ticket-holder, I have seen too many losses. I can't see where our next win comes from! We could nick a draw at Fulham but a loss feels likely. Crucial for our survival will be the home games against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. Surely we have enough to crawl to 38-40 points...

Ali Speechly
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

There were no official pyrotechnics at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, but by the time a fan had launched a flare on to the pitch in the second half, it very much felt like our season was going up in smoke.

The distress signals are loud and clear at Spurs now, as relegation comes into ever-sharper focus with each demoralising loss.

Even if the drop is avoided, the alarm bells should still be ringing for the board.

To enjoy Premier League football you need the best players available with the money you have, and are allowed to spend. The players you need to merely survive it? Well, you're looking at them in several of our current squad.

It was lovely to see Dele return home with a half-time interview on the pitch this weekend, but it also served as a sore reminder of the gulf in quality between the squads he was a part of during his Spurs career and the one we have now.

Even taking into account our significant injury list, our overall squad feels miles off the one needed to meaningfully compete in the most challenging domestic league in world football.

Some will rightly challenge this with our comparative success in the Europa League last season and the Champions League so far this season, but those just feel like anomalies that are about to be exposed.

So, what is the plan come the summer to ensure that next season isn't just a repeat of this one and, indeed, the previous one? The board must have one, surely?

In the meantime, Igor Tudor has made it clear he is not here to enjoy himself, rather to get the work done.

Far from fireworks, I fear the best we fans can hope for come May is simply a sense of relief.

Find more from Ali Speechly at Women Of The Lane, external and on Instagram, external