Four games into the season, Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City are the only sides yet to score in the Premier League. Spurs have brought in £320m worth of talent – a bulk of that in attacking reinforcements – so why are they struggling to score? We analysed the tactics Roberto de Zerbi is trying to implement and what potential fixes may look like.
While the Premier League looks different to when De Zerbi left Brighton in 2024, the Italian has shown clear signs of adapting while retaining his tactical principles. De Zerbi's sides entice opponents to apply pressure – often through slowing down play and passing the ball backwards. They then react to the opponents' movements by speeding up play, looking to take advantage of the spaces behind the pressing players through direct passing or powerful carrying.
In a 2020 coaching seminar, De Zerbi explained: "The stronger the pressure of the opponent, the more vertical [our] action becomes. [The fewer opponents behind], the easier it becomes to go and score." We have seen De Zerbi's forwards in bigger spaces facing fewer defenders on numerous occasions this season already. Turning build-up play to goals, however, requires many parts to come together. Spurs' shape in possession can be hard to read but it often looks like a 2-3-2-3.
The holding midfielder, usually Rodrigo Bentancur, anchors the midfield in front of Spurs' two central defenders with this trio remaining fairly fixed. The 2-3-2-3 shape generally stays the same but there is rotation between the wingers, full-backs and central midfielders. In rotating, players are encouraged to maintain the side's shape by swapping zones with their team-mates – filling gaps as they arise.
On top of these positional rules, De Zerbi gives his sides principles to implement. A lot of what he is doing worked well during his time at Marseille - from 2024 to 2026 - where they averaged 2.3 goals per game. It might not be happening for De Zerbi yet this season at Tottenham.
But they might not be that far off. De Zerbi encourages his players to play centrally. When Spurs' centre-backs are on the ball, opposing midfielders and forwards begin to push up, creating space for Spurs' attacking midfielders between the lines.
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