Match Overview: High Pressure at the City Ground

Today, Saturday, September 5, 2026, the City Ground hosts a critical early-season fixture (3:00 PM WAT / 3:00 PM BST). Oliver Glasner’s Nottingham Forest welcome Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham Hotspur, with both sides desperate to secure their first league victory of the 2026–27 campaign.

Tottenham arrive rooted to the bottom of the table in 20th place after losing their opening two matches without scoring a single goal (3-0 at Brentford, 2-0 vs Newcastle).Losing today would mark their first three-game losing start to a league season since 1979/80.Forest, meanwhile, sit 15th on one point after battling to an impressive 2-2 draw at Anfield against Liverpool, though Glasner is still searching for his first home victory after consecutive home defeats to Leeds United in the league and Carabao Cup.

Head-to-Head & Historical Form

  • Forest Domination:Forest have won their last four consecutive Premier League meetings against Tottenham, doing the league double last season with identical 3-0 victories (including a 3-0 rout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in March 2026).

  • City Ground Woes for Spurs:Tottenham have lost on three of their last four visits to Nottingham.

  • Historical Warning:Spurs have conceded first in 22 matches since the start of last season, failing to win any of them (16 defeats).

Tactical Breakdown & Team News

1. Tottenham’s High-Spend Transition Under De Zerbi:

Spurs committed massive spending in the summer transfer window, headlined by midfield arrival Sandro Tonali partnering Rodrigo Bentancur in the double pivot. In attack, Omar Marmoush leads the line with Mathys Tel, Conor Gallagher, and Sávio supporting from the attacking tier.

  • Team News:Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons remain out. New loan arrival Mykhailo Mudryk and Dominic Solanke are available from the bench.

2. Glasner’s Direct Counter-Press:

Forest will look to mirror the direct wide play that caused Liverpool fits last weekend. Wing-backs Ola Aina and Neco Williams provide vital width, while Morgan Gibbs-White—who opened his account at Anfield—pulls strings behind Liam Delap and Dan Ndoye.

  • Team News:Nicolò Savona remains sidelined, while Ibrahim Sangaré’s calf issue sees Xaver Schlager step into the central engine room alongside Murillo.

Confirmed Starting Lineups

  • Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1 / 4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovi?, Cunha, Williams; Schlager, Murillo; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, McAtee; Delap.

  • Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Kinský; Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Tonali; Sávio, Gallagher, Tel; Marmoush.

Key Matchup

  • The Deciding Battle: Micky van de Ven & Jan Paul van Hecke vs. Liam Delap & Morgan Gibbs-White. Spurs must stop Gibbs-White from finding space between the midfield lines; his vision on the break has directly unpicked Tottenham's high defensive line in each of their recent head-to-head encounters.

 Prediction

  • Nottingham Forest to win
  • Both Team To Score
  • Over 2.5 Goals 
  • Possible Correct Scores : 2-1