Mathys Tel could start for Tottenham against Aston Villa
Mathys Tel could start for Tottenham against Aston Villa as Roberto De Zerbi looks for answers without Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke. The Tottenham manager has to reshape his first XI again, with the club still chasing top-flight safety and needing all four remaining games to go its way.
De Zerbi’s front three
De Zerbi hinted in his press conference at a front three of Randal Kolo Muani, Tel and Richarlison for the Aston Villa match. That would be the clearest sign yet that Tel is close to a first Tottenham start under the 46-year-old, after making 34 appearances in all competitions this season without opening a league match for him.
Tel has already shown he can affect a game from the bench. Against Wolves, he came on in the second half and won the corner that led to Joao Palhinha’s goal in the 82nd minute, a moment that helped Tottenham register their first league win of 2026.
Xavi Simons and Solanke
The need for a new attacking shape comes after Xavi Simons tore his ACL and will miss several months, while Solanke has a muscle injury and is in a race against time to return before the season ends. De Zerbi said Tottenham have to find solutions to replace both players in the first XI, and that challenge has grown after Cristian Romero and Mohammed Kudus were ruled out for the rest of the campaign in April.
Tel’s route into the side has been uneven. He has not started a game for Tottenham under De Zerbi and had only come off the bench in all three of his previous appearances under him, with two of those outings coming at right winger rather than his preferred left-side role.
Tel’s left side chance
“He is a potential big player, a potential big talent at the moment, and we have to help him become a top player because he has the right qualities to do that,” De Zerbi said in his press conference. “I’m sorry because I used him in not his favourite position, because he played two games as a right winger, against Wolves and Brighton.”
“His favourite position is left winger,” he said. “Now maybe without Xavi and Maddison and Odobert and all the other players, he can feel more comfortable because he can prepare his game for one week without the thoughts of whether he plays or not. The responsibilities can be better for us and for him.”
West Ham’s loss to Brentford on Saturday sharpened the pressure around Tottenham’s survival push, and De Zerbi has told his players to put everything on the pitch to win the remaining four games. If he turns to Tel against Aston Villa, it would be less a gamble than a reset, with Tottenham short on attacking bodies and looking for a response from a player they believe has the tools to start producing from the left.
