Spurs have finished 17th in the Premier League the past two seasons, staying up on the final day of 2025-26. Winger Savio, known as Savinho while at Manchester City before his £75m summer move, had made an impressive debut, scoring in the midweek 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over Charlton, but was ruled out because of what De Zerbi called "muscle fatigue". Striker Richarlison and midfielder James Maddison were also not included, but De Zerbi will be worried by the amount of chances Spurs missed, while they also conceded goals to both shots on target that Newcastle registered.