Soccer
Roberto De Zerbi revealed his ultimate goal at Tottenham is to “bring the club to the top of the Premier League.”
De Zerbi took charge of Spurs at the end of March and helped them avoid relegation from the English top flight with victory over Everton on the final day of the season.
Overall, the Italian won three of his seven games in charge (D2 L2) and is now preparing for his first full season at the helm.
Spurs begin their Premier League season on Saturday, when they face Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium, and De Zerbi believes this campaign is just the start for the north London side.
“I think in football you need to be humble. Keep your eyes on your plan,” De Zerbi told TNT Sports.
“Our plan, our project is not just focused on this season. This is the first season; in the first season you need to build a base to create something in the future.
“[Our ultimate goal] is to bring the club to the top of the Premier League.
“Obviously, it is very tough to win the trophy, but we are Tottenham. We have to arrive in the right moment to fight and compete to win the trophy because of the history of the club.”
Finishing touches
@Betano_UK pic.twitter.com/MlXW5l7QHb
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 20, 2026
Brentford closed out their pre-season campaign in style, thrashing Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt 7-0.
Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago both scored twice, while record signing Mamadou Sangare, Keane Lewis-Potter and Dango Ouattara also got on the scoresheet.
Schade was pleased to see both him and his attacking partners score ahead of the start of the new season.
“It was a really good win – we’re ready for next week [Tottenham match],” said the forward.
“A clean sheet and we were offensively really sharp. Me, Dango and Igor… all three of us scored. So I’m very happy.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Igor Thiago
Thiago boasted the best shot conversion rate of any player to take 25 or more shots in the Premier League last season (26.2% – 22/84).
Similarly, among those to score 15+ goals across Europe’s top-five leagues in 2025-26, only Harry Kane (30.3%) and Joaquin Panichelli (27.1%) had a better conversion rate.
Tottenham – Sandro Tonali
New Spurs signing Sandro Tonali won possession overall (147) and in the middle third (87) more times than any Spurs or Newcastle United player in the Premier League last season.
He also averaged 16.8 forward passes and 3.3 progressive passes per 90 minutes, more than any Spurs midfielder in the top flight last term.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
From the beginning of March until the end of the 2025-26 season, only Burnley (0) won fewer Premier League games than Brentford (W1 D7 L2).
However, their sole victory came at home to West Ham, and the Bees went unbeaten in home league London derbies last term (W1 D5).
Nevertheless, Brentford have only won one of their 10 Premier League games against Spurs (D4 L5), their joint-lowest win percentage against any side (10% – level with Arsenal).
Spurs are one of only two sides, along with Chelsea, to have played more than once at the Gtech in the Premier League and never lost (five each). Four of their five trips there have ended in draws, however, winning just once in February 2025 (2-0).
Only Burnley (46.5%) and Wolves (44.6%) spent a larger proportion of their total Premier League game time in a losing position last season than Spurs (36.4%), who were also one of only two teams that failed to win a game from behind in 2025-26, alongside Wolves.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 40.9%
Draw – 24.9%
Tottenham – 34.2%
Read MoreSoccerNews Editorial Team