De Zerbi's New Era at Tottenham: Premier League Season Preview
Roberto De Zerbi walks into his first full Premier League season at Tottenham with the scars of last year still fresh and a £237million rebuild at his back. Survival was the job in 2025-26. Now the demand is far louder: make Spurs matter again.
The new campaign starts in a tricky, tight corner of west London. Brentford away. A 5.30pm kick-off on Saturday, August 22 at the Gtech Community Stadium, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with BBC Radio 5 Live carrying full commentary for those on the move.
De Zerbi’s rebooted Spurs
Tottenham arrive as one of the Premier League’s great unknowns. Same badge, very different team.
Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Sandro Tonali are all in line for competitive debuts. That is a new defensive core, a new left flank and a Champions League-level midfielder dropped straight into the heart of De Zerbi’s system.
Matheus Fernandes has been nursing a calf problem through pre-season but is expected to make the squad. He may not start, yet his presence underlines how aggressively Spurs have gone after technical quality in midfield.
There are problems to juggle. Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie did not play a single pre-season minute and are major doubts. Pedro Porro has only just returned to training after his World Cup exploits and may have to accept a place on the bench.
James Maddison is being handled carefully after his ACL injury, with just 45 minutes in pre-season. Mohammed Kudus, out since January with a thigh issue, is close but not ready; this game comes too soon. A move for Manchester City’s Savinho remains unresolved.
That opens a door. With Kudus still unavailable and no Savinho yet, De Zerbi could hand 17-year-old Mikey Moore a start on the right wing. For a club trying to shake off the gloom of last season, there would be symbolism in that: big-money signings alongside a homegrown talent thrown into the noise of an opening day.
Up front, Dominic Solanke is back in training after an ankle injury, but Richarlison is still expected to lead the line.
Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski are all ruled out and remain some way from a return. De Zerbi’s revolution is bold, but it is not yet complete.
Brentford steady under Andrews
While Spurs lurched from crisis to escape act last season, Brentford quietly posted another strong year. Keith Andrews guided them to ninth, matching the club’s joint-highest Premier League finish and underlining how far the Bees have come.
They start this campaign with problems of their own. Sepp van den Berg is out for the opening two months, leaving Kristoffer Ajer and Nathan Collins as the centre-back pairing. Antoni Milambo is still sidelined after the ACL injury he suffered on international duty last October.
The excitement comes further up the pitch. Club-record signing Mamadou Sangare is expected to walk straight into the XI, slotting into a midfield trio with Vitaly Janelt and Mathias Jensen. It is a group that can press, pass and hurt teams between the lines.
New faces Jannik Schuster, Jaidon Anthony and Callum Wilson should all make the matchday squad, likely from the bench, giving Andrews extra firepower to call on if the game opens up late on.
And then there is Igor Thiago. His World Cup may have underwhelmed, but 22 Premier League goals last season tell the real story. He remains Brentford’s spearhead and is 11/8 to score anytime against Spurs.
A fixture that refuses to split
History at the Gtech hints at another tight, tense evening. Four of the five Premier League meetings between these sides in this stadium have ended level, including two 2-2 draws and last season’s 0-0.
Tottenham, even in a turbulent year, took four points off Brentford in 2025-26. Thomas Frank, then in the Spurs dugout against his former club, oversaw a 2-0 win in December and that goalless draw on New Year’s Day.
The pattern is clear: Brentford rarely roll over at home, Spurs rarely dominate here, and the scoreboard usually reflects the stalemate. Little wonder the bookmakers make the Bees 6/4 to win, Tottenham 15/8, and the draw 11/4.
Given the attacking talent on show and the defensive reshuffles on both sides, backing a draw with both teams to score at 7/2 feels in step with the recent history of this fixture.
Tonali, Tel and the new Tottenham edge
If Spurs are to break that cycle, Sandro Tonali might be the one to crack it open.
He scored 16 minutes into his Premier League debut for Newcastle and has three goals in five previous appearances against Brentford. His pre-season for Spurs impressed, and he is priced at 8/1 to score anytime. De Zerbi wants control and incision from deep; Tonali offers both and a threat from the edge of the box.
Mathys Tel also arrives with momentum. One goal and three assists across five pre-season friendlies underlined his sharpness and versatility. He is 9/5 to score or assist against Brentford, a price that reflects how central he already looks to De Zerbi’s attacking plans.
On the other side, Thiago’s numbers speak loudly enough. Even if Spurs dominate the ball, Brentford know they have a striker who needs only one clean sight to tilt the evening their way.
A new era, a familiar test
The odds say this is close. The recent head-to-heads say it is close. The team news says both sides are still being pieced together.
What cuts through all of that is the sense that this is more than just an opening fixture for Tottenham. After a year spent staring down the table, they have spent heavily, changed the dressing room and handed De Zerbi the tools he demanded.
Now comes the hard part: proving at a hostile, awkward ground that all that money and all that upheaval can turn survival into something far more ambitious.
