Four days after kick-starting their season by beating Club Brugge in the Champions League, Aston Villa host a Nottingham Forest side similarly in a period of adaptation and without a top-flight win this season. Villa's slow start to the current campaign has prompted comparisons with the previous one, when they didn't score until their fifth league game but then ground out a hard-earned European victory against limited opponents. The difference this season is that, aside from the abysmal opening defeat by Brighton, Villa are at least showing an identity they lacked during the early malaise of 2025-26.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at Villa Park (kick-off 15:00 BST). Alejandro Garnacho still "needs time" to settle in but is showing a "positive attitude". Emery said his priority is rebuilding the squad and adapting the new players by utilising the work he has done over the past three years at the club because, the "idea and plan is not changing".
Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham are yet to win or score a goal in the Premier League this season (Photo: Getty) Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that one of his summer signings has suffered a ‘stupid’ injury ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash against Everton. The Toffees travel to north London on Saturday evening, with Spurs still looking for their first win and goal of the 2026/27 Premier League season. After spending over £302million over the summer, De Zerbi’s side have embarrassingly begun with defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United, and a lacklustre draw at Nottingham Forest. And to make matters worse for the Italian manager, one of his new signings has already been sidelined, with Mykhailo Mudryk picking up an ankle injury in training. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. The Ukraine international made a surprise loan move from arch rivals Chelsea on deadline day, with the winger cleared to play for the first time in nearly two years after his doping ban was resolved. Mudryk made his full return to football as a late substitute against Forest last week but now faces a prolonged spell in the treatment room. ‘He felt pain in his ankle, and then after two days he made the medical check, and we knew the problem,’ De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Roberto De Zerbi confident Tottenham are heading in the right direction","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/11\/363723294525993361\/480x270_MP4_363723294525993361.mp4","description":"Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi speaks to the media ahead of his side's match against Everton in the Premier League.","duration":"T18M34S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/11\/15\/111191981-0-image-m-17_1789137092493.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-11T15:46:03+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Mykhailo Mudryk recently played his first game since November 2024 (Photo: Getty) ‘Stupid injury, but we are not stupid. We knew when we signed Mudryk, we knew it could be difficult to come back as a normal player.’ While no timeline for his return has been given, reports suggest Mudryk will be out for several weeks and won’t return until after the international break. That means the 25-year-old will miss Premier League clashes against Everton and Aston Villa, as well as the huge Carabao Cup third-round match at Liverpool this Tuesday. James Maddison has not played since the opening day of the season (Photo: Getty) He could however return in time to face Manchester United on Saturday, October 10. In better news for Tottenham, De Zerbi says James Maddison is fit and available to face the Toffees, as is Mohammed Kudus. Asked if Maddison could start the game, De Zerbi added: ‘I’m happy when all my players are available. It is maybe a problem for me because my decisions are not easy. But I want to manage all players together. ‘[Kudus is] very close to being ready to start the game. ‘Dejan Kulusevski is not working with us in the last week. Not a big problem, a normal problem when one player is out for a long time.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the l
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