Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Preview
There’s a fascinating kind of misery unfolding at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now. Roberto De Zerbi’s side have played three Premier League games, accumulated one point, and haven’t scored a single goal. That’s not a slow start — that’s a crisis in slow motion. And yet here they are, hosting an Everton side that arrived at this season with all sorts of off-pitch chaos, transfer window embarrassment, and a fanbase that’s spent the summer furious at the boardroom. Both clubs are coming in wounded. Both clubs desperately need something from this one. Saturday evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 5:30pm, and it feels like a game neither side can really afford to lose.
For Spurs, the numbers are damning. Eleven shots against Nottingham Forest, not a single one on target, 59% of the ball and absolutely nothing to show for it. De Zerbi’s philosophy demands control, build-up, creativity — but right now that creativity is nowhere to be found. If they fail to score again on Saturday, they’ll become the first Tottenham side in the club’s entire history — including the old First Division days — to go four league matches without a goal. That’s a record nobody at the club wants to be associated with. The pressure is real and it’s building fast.
Everton, meanwhile, are unbeaten and have shown genuine spirit. A stoppage-time strike from Ainsley Maitland-Niles — a deadline-day signing who nobody expected much from — earned them a point at home to Manchester United, and that kind of moment can lift a squad. But the road hasn’t been kind to them lately, and they’re coming into this fixture on a run of six league away games without a win. Add in the fact they’ve lost five straight Premier League away games to Tottenham specifically, and there are reasons to be cautious about backing them here, even if they travel in decent nick overall.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Form
Tottenham’s form coming into this is about as grim as it gets. A nightmare opening defeat at Brentford, followed by two more matches where they’ve huffed and puffed but produced precisely nothing in front of goal. The draw with Forest last weekend was their first point, and even that felt like a moral victory just for not losing. They’re one of only three sides in the entire division yet to score — alongside Aston Villa and Coventry City — and their shot conversion has been non-existent. This isn’t just about missing a centre forward, it’s about a team that looks disjointed and lacking the confidence to pull the trigger when opportunities arrive.
Everton’s form picture is more nuanced. They’re unbeaten across all competitions, which sounds impressive until you start looking at the away record specifically. Winless in their last six league games on the road — including needing a Tarkowski equaliser deep into injury time at Bournemouth to avoid defeat — suggests a side that can grind out results at home but struggles to assert themselves away from Merseyside. Their home point against Manchester United showed real character, particularly from Maitland-Niles, but character and a good away record are different things entirely, and right now Everton simply don’t have the latter.
What makes this matchup genuinely intriguing is that Tottenham’s problems are largely about attacking output, while Everton’s problems are largely about performing away from home. That creates a genuine tension. Can Spurs finally find a goal against a side that hasn’t exactly been keeping clean sheets on their travels? And can Everton actually hurt a Tottenham defence that’s been keeping things tight even if the attack has been misfiring? The numbers suggest a low-scoring affair, but they also suggest something has to give soon for De Zerbi’s side.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Head to Head
The recent history between these two sides tilts firmly in Tottenham’s favour at home. Everton have lost five consecutive Premier League away games to Spurs, and last season they were battered 4-0 on aggregate across the two league meetings. The most recent encounter — a 1-0 Spurs win on the final day of 2025-26 — was the one that completed the job for De Zerbi’s side in terms of whatever they were playing for, and the Toffees haven’t scored in either of those last two league games against Tottenham. If they fail to find the net again on Saturday, it’ll be the first time in their history they’ve gone three consecutive league matches against a single opponent without scoring. That’s a pretty stark pattern to be carrying into a fixture.
There is one footnote worth raising, though. The last time Tottenham went on a similarly scoreless run — four Premier League games without a goal back in 2006-07 — that particular drought included a 2-0 home defeat to Everton. History probably means nothing at this point, but it’s the kind of trivia that’ll be sitting in the back of David Moyes’s head this weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Lineups
Tottenham’s injury list is doing De Zerbi no favours whatsoever. James Maddison’s shoulder problem kept him out of the matchday squad against Forest and he’s a significant doubt again here — and given how much Spurs need someone to unlock things in the final third, his absence really hurts. Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are all still working through knee injuries, so De Zerbi’s options in wide and creative areas are seriously limited. The one bit of brightness last week — Mykhaylo Mudryk’s return after more than 600 days out — has already turned to dust, with the Ukrainian picking up an ankle injury that rules him out for six to eight weeks. That is genuinely horrible luck.
Everton arrive with a slightly cleaner bill of health but still have some questions to answer. James Garner isn’t fully fit after picking up a knock, which opens the door for Hayden Hackney to start alongside Harrison Armstrong in the middle. Maitland-Niles impressed enough last weekend to nail down a spot — likely at right-back in place of Merlin Rohl. The interesting selection call is whether Jack Grealish, back from his own injury issues, comes in ahead of Brennan Johnson out wide. Grealish’s ability to carry the ball and draw fouls could be useful against what’s likely to be a compact Spurs defensive structure. Christian Norgaard remains out until October, so that’s one fewer selection headache for Moyes in the engine room.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Tactics
De Zerbi sides typically want to dominate the ball and build from the back with patience and precision, but what we’ve seen in the opening weeks of this season is a team that has the framework without the cutting edge. They’ve been moving the ball side to side, enjoying possession in the middle third, but without Maddison or any of the injured wide men to break lines and create final third chances, the whole system is grinding to a halt at the wrong end of the pitch. The worry for Spurs is that even with home advantage and the pressure that comes with needing to finally score, their attacking structure looks blunt. They need someone to take responsibility in dangerous areas, and right now nobody is doing that.
Everton under Moyes are built on defensive solidity first and foremost, which makes them a frustrating opponent even for sides in better form than Spurs currently are. Away from home they tend to sit deeper, work in two compact banks of four, and hit on the counter when the chance presents itself. Maitland-Niles bombing forward from right-back could be one avenue, and if Grealish starts he’ll be looking to drift inside and get on the ball in spaces between Tottenham’s lines. This feels like a game that could be decided by a moment of individual quality or a set piece rather than any sustained attacking spell from either side — and that context is important when thinking about where the value lies in the betting markets.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Prediction and Betting Tips
Everything about this game points to low scoring. Tottenham haven’t scored in three Premier League games and have looked toothless going forward even when they’ve had the ball. Everton away from home have been organised, defensively minded, and hard to break down — they haven’t kept clean sheets on their travels but they’ve been doing enough to stay in games. Both sides need points more than they need to take risks, and Moyes will absolutely set up to be difficult to beat. A draw feels genuinely likely here, and if Spurs do nick something, it’s probably going to be narrow. Under 2.5 goals looks firmly on, and there’s an argument the game ends 0-0 or 1-0 either way.
The tip here is Under 2.5 Goals. Tottenham haven’t scored all season, Everton have shown no inclination to attack freely on the road, and both managers will err on the side of caution. The goalless pattern running through this fixture — for Spurs in general and for Everton specifically in recent head-to-heads — makes the low-scoring market difficult to ignore at this stage of the season.