By HARRY BAMFORTH, LIVE SPORTS COVERAGE REPORTER
Updated:
Follow Daily Mail Sport's live coverage for the latest updates as Spurs host Coventry City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League.
Back on the turf
This is lovely to see.
Sitting in the press box here, we have seen Dejan Kulusevski running about the pitch for the last 10 or so minutes, and dare I say, he looks fresh.
The Swede has been galloping about and looks buzzing to be back there, despite what this picture looks like.
It's good to see him back in action.
'Maddison reunited with side that started it all'
Matt Barlow at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
First start for Maddison since Bodo/Glimt at home in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in May 2025. His return has been complicated by setbacks and niggling injuries, including a shoulder injury at Brentford on the opening day of this season. Starts against the club where it all started for him.
'De Zerbi is under pressure'
Stephen Carr, former Spurs defender, speaking to BetVictor:
Spurs spent a lot in the transfer window. There was probably a bit of a panic button pressed after last season. They invested heavily in the squad and the manager, so having just two points from five games is a horrific start they didn't foresee.When you bring in several new foreign players at once, stats show it can take up to nine months to adapt to the Premier League. Adapting takes time, whether moving to England or going abroad.
It's a tricky situation. These are very good players, but top European players often struggle initially in the Premier League and need time. Unfortunately, managers don't get much time. De Zerbi is under pressure because he was backed with significant money, more than Spurs have ever spent, to build his squad.
Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender, on Sky Sports:
I think there have been signs of improvement in the last few weeks in terms of performance, but they can't put the goals away. That goal against Man Utd was massive because even though they played really well at Old Trafford and were down to 10 men, it would have been another defeat and you can't keep saying 'We played well and lost'. It felt like more than a point. They thoroughly deserved it.But tonight, this is a game they have to win. All that has gone on in the last few weeks where Spurs supporters are talking about an improvement in performance and the next step is to get the result - if they don't get a result at home to Coventry, that talk all goes away. Tonight is all about the result.
Spurs' sunny week away in Spain
All has been quiet on the Tottenham front lately.
Last week, Roberto De Zerbi decided to take his squad for a mid-season training camp in Marbella, Spain. However, many wondered whether they were even there at times, as club channels fell silent.
But they were, and well, the squad even bumped into Anthony Joshua during their time there.
Now, with De Zerbi keeping all things hush and trying to build morale, I'm interested to see what kind of Tottenham we see tonight.
Has the team bonding worked like that dinner last year? Spurs fans will certainly hope so.
Lampard: 'Every game for us is tough'
Frank Lampard, Coventry boss, speaking ahead of the game:
We're fortunate to have had a really good time these past 18 months, so when you lose games you really try to look into it, and try to improve, and when you get results you should enjoy it.Every game for us in this league is tough because of where we're at. When I look at them play, they have a lot of quality with a very good coach. We worry about ourselves and the start we had on paper to where we've got to with these two wins makes us feel good, so it's not the time for comparison.
As [we're] a promoted side, I'm sure they'll have a feeling of confidence against us. That's fine. We have to believe in ourselves and go there with our own confidence and play with the same purpose we did against Newcastle.
Lampard's old enemy
Frank Lampard knows a thing or two about winning away at Tottenham, both as a player and a manager.
The Coventry boss will be desperate, and I mean absolutely DESPERATE, to get one over the old enemy again tonight.
I remember him winning here as Chelsea boss in his first season back at the club as a coach and he went absolutely nuts on that touchline.
Now, his Coventry side aren't quite as good as that Blues one from seven years ago, but there's a chance we may see him celebrating like that again.
Lets see, eh?
Sky Blues soaring
Coventry City have finally settled back into the big time.
I remember watching Frank Lampard's side get hammered at home to Brighton 5-0 last month and thinking, 'these guys are cooked in this top flight'. I was really worried for them.
But impressive back-to-back wins over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground and then their thumping of Newcastle have eased such fears. They have displayed that they can throw down in this league.
The Sky Blues will certainly be full of confidence as they arrive at north London this evening, not only because of their form, but because of Tottenham's, too.
Can they make it three wins on the spin tonight?
The last time they managed to do that in this league was back in 1998. Almost 30 years of waiting, and now they have the opportunity again.
De Zerbi: 'Kulusevski's suffered so much'
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham boss, on the return of Dejan Kulusevski:
It's one of the best news after Everton game last season, because Deki, he suffered too much. He deserves to feel emotion on the pitch.After the training, I spoke with him and I said to him, ‘Deki, look, I spoke with the medical staff, and they gave me the okay’ and he smiled like this. We are happy, we are very, very happy.
It's not football. I'm not speaking about football. Okay, he's a special player, but we are speaking about different things. He suffered a lot and his reaction was great.
Inside Kulusevski's 526 days of hell
Matt Barlow at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
The length of Dejan Kulusevski's absence told of the seriousness of his knee injury but it was not until the heartfelt open letter from his family was it evident just how clear and grave the warnings had been.'They said you might never play again,' read the letter written in Swedish by his wife Eldina, a former Bosnia international footballer, and posted social media on the day he returned to full training at Tottenham. 'They obviously don't know who you are.'
This was on September 1, 477 days after damaging a kneecap in an innocuous collision in a Premier League game against Crystal Palace at the end of Ange Postecoglou's reign and a significant family milestone.
More than a month on, having overcome the somewhat inevitable niggly setback as his body reacted to the rigours of full-contact sport once again, his personal day counter has ticked up to 526. Kulusevski, though continues to advance and tonight he returns to the matchday squad to face Coventry City.
Read more:
The return of Kulusevski
Now this is lovely to see!
After 526 days on the sidelines, surgeries, setbacks (a lot of them) and a whole season out, Dejan Kulusevski returns to a Tottenham Hotspur matchday squad. This is just lovely to see.
The Swedish winger has been through hell and back since picking up a serious knee injury at the back end of the 2024-25 campaign. Some thought he may never play again... genuinely, his absence was very concerning.
But here he is, back in contention after Savio's injury problems and his ever-growing fitness. Tottenham's recent trip to Marbella is sure to have seen him grow from strength to strength.
The question is: will he feature at all tonight? Lets hope so.
Coventry City Team News - Sakamoto STARTS
I didn't think Coventry would make any changes, but I was wrong.
Frank Lampard makes one from the side that thrashed Newcastle, bringing in Tatsuhiro Sakamoto for Ephron Mason-Clark.
The rest is - unsurprisingly - unchanged.
Key Updates