Tottenham Hotspur are still searching for their first Premier League victory of the 2026/27 season after five matches, but how does Roberto De Zerbi’s start compare with the previous three campaigns?
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa left Tottenham with just two points from their opening five Premier League matches and bottom of the Premier League table in 20th place.
It represents a dramatic change from the position Spurs found themselves in at exactly the same stage of each of the previous three seasons.
Tottenham had accumulated 10 points after five matches last season, seven in 2024/25 and 13 from the opening five Premier League fixtures of 2023/24.
Perhaps even more concerning than the points total is the difference in front of goal.
Spurs have scored only twice in their opening five league matches this season and look clueless when getting into the opposition half of how to break down their opponents. At the same stage last season they had already scored 10, while the 2023/24 side had found the net 13 times.
Tottenham’s last four Premier League starts compared
| Season | Manager | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points | Position after five |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | Roberto De Zerbi | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 2 | 20th |
| 2025/26 | Thomas Frank | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | 3rd |
| 2024/25 | Ange Postecoglou | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 7 | 10th |
| 2023/24 | Ange Postecoglou | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 13 | 2nd |
The comparison could hardly be more stark.
Across the same five-game period, Tottenham have gone from 13 points under Ange Postecoglou in 2023/24 to seven the following season, back up to 10 last year and now just two under Roberto De Zerbi.
The current total is 11 points fewer than Spurs managed at the same stage just three seasons ago.
Tottenham’s opening five Premier League results in 2026/27
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Brentford (A) | Lost 3-0 |
| Newcastle United (H) | Lost 2-0 |
| Nottingham Forest (A) | Drew 0-0 |
| Everton (H) | Drew 0-0 |
| Aston Villa (H) | Lost 3-2 |
Tottenham’s opening four matches produced a sequence of zero goals in four consecutive Premier League games.
The late goals from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke against Aston Villa finally ended that drought, but they were unable to prevent Spurs suffering a third league defeat of the season.
After five games, Tottenham have taken just two of the 15 points available.
Tottenham’s opening five Premier League results in 2025/26
The contrast with last season is considerable.
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Burnley (H) | Won 3-0 |
| Manchester City (A) | Won 2-0 |
| Bournemouth (H) | Lost 1-0 |
| West Ham United (A) | Won 3-0 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | Drew 2-2 |
Even Thomas Frank’s Tottenham had three victories by this point and had already scored five times as many Premier League goals as De Zerbi’s current side.
Perhaps the biggest difference was the defensive record.
Spurs conceded only three goals across those opening five fixtures and recorded three clean sheets. The current side has already conceded eight.
Last season’s side therefore had a +7 goal difference after five matches compared with -6 this season, a swing of 13 goals.
Tottenham’s opening five Premier League results in 2024/25
Ange Postecoglou’s second season produced a more mixed opening.
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Leicester City (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Everton (H) | Won 4-0 |
| Newcastle United (A) | Lost 2-1 |
| Arsenal (H) | Lost 1-0 |
| Brentford (H) | Won 3-1 |
Spurs had seven points after five games and sat 10th.
That was hardly a spectacular start, but Tottenham had scored nine times and possessed a +4 goal difference.
Even that relatively inconsistent beginning therefore produced five more points and seven more goals than Spurs have managed this season.
Tottenham’s opening five Premier League results in 2023/24
Postecoglou’s first season provides the biggest contrast of all.
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Brentford (A) | Drew 2-2 |
| Manchester United (H) | Won 2-0 |
| Bournemouth (A) | Won 2-0 |
| Burnley (A) | Won 5-2 |
| Sheffield United (H) | Won 2-1 |
Tottenham took 13 points from a possible 15, scoring 13 goals and conceding five.
The dramatic late victory over Sheffield United gave Spurs their best-ever start to a Premier League season after five matches.
Three years later, Tottenham have gone from their best Premier League start to an extraordinarily difficult opening five games.
Tottenham’s goals after five games compared
The attacking numbers arguably provide the most concerning comparison.
| Season | Goals scored | Goals per game | Leading Spurs scorer after five |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 2 | 0.40 | Conor Gallagher / Jan Paul van Hecke – 1 |
| 2025/26 | 10 | 2.00 | Richarlison – 3 |
| 2024/25 | 9 | 1.80 | Heung-min Son – 2 |
| 2023/24 | 13 | 2.60 | Heung-min Son – 3 |
Own goals are included in Tottenham’s team totals but are not attributed to a Spurs player.
Tottenham’s current scoring rate of 0.4 goals per Premier League game is less than one-sixth of the 2.6 goals per match they averaged over the opening five fixtures of 2023/24.
Last season is particularly interesting in light of Richarlison’s current situation. The Brazilian had scored three Premier League goals by this stage of 2025/26, including two against Burnley on the opening weekend and another against Brighton.
Richarlison was Tottenham’s outright leading league scorer after five games. One year later, he finds himself having been frozen out of Roberto De Zerbi’sPremier League squad as a result of his failed transfer exit while Spurs have scored just twice as a team.
Tottenham’s leading scorers after five games in each season
2026/27
| Player | Premier League goals |
|---|---|
| Conor Gallagher | 1 |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | 1 |
Tottenham did not have a single Premier League goalscorer until the fifth match of the season, when Gallagher and Van Hecke both found the net in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
That means none of Tottenham’s recognised forwards have scored a Premier League goal after five matches, an especially concerning statistic given the attacking options available in Tottenham’s 2026/27 first-team squad.
2025/26
| Player | Premier League goals |
|---|---|
| Richarlison | 3 |
| Brennan Johnson | 2 |
| Joao Palhinha | 1 |
| Pape Matar Sarr | 1 |
| Lucas Bergvall | 1 |
| Micky van de Ven | 1 |
Tottenham’s other goal came via Jan Paul van Hecke’s own goal in the 2-2 draw at Brighton.
2024/25
| Player | Premier League goals |
|---|---|
| Heung-min Son | 2 |
| Pedro Porro | 1 |
| Yves Bissouma | 1 |
| Cristian Romero | 1 |
| Dominic Solanke | 1 |
| Brennan Johnson | 1 |
| James Maddison | 1 |
Dan Burn’s own goal against Newcastle accounted for Tottenham’s ninth goal.
2023/24
| Player | Premier League goals |
|---|---|
| Heung-min Son | 3 |
| James Maddison | 2 |
| Cristian Romero | 2 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | 2 |
| Pape Matar Sarr | 1 |
| Emerson Royal | 1 |
| Richarlison | 1 |
Lisandro Martinez’s own goal against Manchester United completed Tottenham’s tally of 13.
Spurs’ attacking decline is the biggest concern for De Zerbi
There are mitigating factors when comparing different seasons, managers and squads, and five matches remains a relatively small sample.
However, the scale of the difference makes Tottenham’s current attacking problems difficult to dismiss as simply a slow start.
Across the opening five games of 2023/24, Spurs scored 13 goals. That dropped to nine in 2024/25 before returning to 10 last season. This season, they have scored two.
Even matching the lowest total from the previous three campaigns would have required Tottenham to score another seven goals.
The problem is also broader than simply finding a reliable centre-forward.
Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke are Tottenham’s only Premier League goalscorers so far, meaning none of De Zerbi’s recognised forwards have found the net in the competition this season.
That inevitably increases the pressure on Dominic Solanke and Tottenham’s other attacking options, particularly after the club decided to leave last season’s leading scorer Richarlison outside their Premier League squad.
The comparison with last season is particularly awkward for Spurs. After five matches in 2025/26, Richarlison had personally scored more Premier League goals than the entire Tottenham team has managed at the same point this season.
From 13 points to two in three years
Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate Tottenham’s changing fortunes is their points return.
| Season | Points after five | Difference from 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 13 | +11 |
| 2024/25 | 7 | +5 |
| 2025/26 | 10 | +8 |
| 2026/27 | 2 | — |
Tottenham collected 30 points from the opening five games across the previous three Premier League seasons combined, an average of 10 points per campaign. De Zerbi’s side have managed only two.
The current Spurs team would therefore need to collect eight additional points merely to reach the average five-game return from the previous three seasons.
Another way of looking at the difference is through points per game.
| Season | Points per game after five |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 2.60 |
| 2024/25 | 1.40 |
| 2025/26 | 2.00 |
| 2026/27 | 0.40 |
Tottenham’s 0.40 points-per-game return is less than half the rate recorded at the same stage in any of the previous three seasons.
Tottenham’s goal difference has also collapsed
The problems are not limited to goals scored.
| Season | Goals scored | Goals conceded | Goal difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 13 | 5 | +8 |
| 2024/25 | 9 | 5 | +4 |
| 2025/26 | 10 | 3 | +7 |
| 2026/27 | 2 | 8 | -6 |
Spurs had a positive goal difference after five games in each of the previous three seasons. De Zerbi’s side are already six goals in the negative.
The difference compared with last season is particularly dramatic. Tottenham have scored eight fewer goals and conceded five more than they had after five Premier League fixtures in 2025/26.
That represents a 13-goal swing in goal difference in the space of 12 months.
Why Tottenham’s current position should concern De Zerbi
Five games do not define a 38-match Premier League season, particularly under a new head coach, but Tottenham’s start cannot be dismissed as merely disappointing when placed alongside their recent history.
Spurs are bottom of the Premier League, winless, have scored only twice, possess a -6 goal difference and have collected just two points from a possible 15.
At the same stage last season they were third with 10 points and a +7 goal difference, while three seasons ago they were second after producing the best five-game start of their Premier League history.
The most immediate challenge for De Zerbi is obvious. Tottenham simply have to start scoring.
The defensive record needs improvement too, but scoring two goals across 450 minutes of Premier League football leaves almost no margin for error at the other end.
The fact that neither of Tottenham’s two league goals has been scored by a recognised forward only increases the scrutiny on De Zerbi’s attacking options.
It also makes the decision to leave Richarlison out of the Premier League squad increasingly relevant. Tottenham’s leading scorer at this stage of last season is currently unavailable for selection at a time when the forwards who remain in the squad, including Solanke have yet to score a league goal.
There is still plenty of time for Tottenham’s season to change direction, with the club’s upcoming matches, but the first five league fixtures have already produced a significant statistical warning.
Compared with each of the previous three campaigns, Spurs have fewer points, fewer goals and a worse goal difference after five Premier League matches.
For De Zerbi and Tottenham, improvement needs to come quickly – Spurs fans certainly do not want to be talking about another manager facing the sack this side of Christmas.