Our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2025/26 team preview guides continue with Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur.
Here, their best FPL picks for the upcoming campaign are discussed. We’ll also attempt to predict the line-up for Gameweek 1, review pre-season, detail the best players for defensive contributions (DC) and more.
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REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
THOMAS THE FRANK ENGINE
Asked about this nickname by a journalist who clearly read our list of funny(ish) team names, new head coach Thomas Frank responded politely. It sums him up, really. A well-liked boss, he’s here to bring in a new era, fresh from the eggshell-trodding needed under Ange Postecoglou.
It wasn’t an easy decision to dismiss the latter, mind. Spurs finished in an embarrassing 17th place but were still able to lift a European trophy and – incredibly – qualify for the Champions League.
That’ll be testing for Frank, as he’s not used to balancing domestic and European action. Our analysis of the Dane noticed that his tactics reflect a dislike of long-range efforts. Wanting players to get the ball into the box, only Liverpool scored more 2024/25 goals from inside the penalty area.
Additionally, Frank likes defending in a way that forces opponents to shoot from distance, thinking they’re harmless. While Brentford conceded the second-most overall attempts (647), they allowed the seventh-fewest big chances (80), as goalkeeper Mark Flekken made more saves (156) than the rest.
The tactics, innovation and personality of Frank are already bringing optimism to north London.
ENTERTAINMENT
As bad as last season was, at least supporters weren’t bored. No team was involved in more goals (129), which of course meant very few clean sheets.
Also, big-money signing Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) ended both previous Premier League campaigns as the most frequent attempter of take-ons. Watching dribblers is fun.
REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
INJURIES
Unfortunately, last season’s horrific injury record seems to be carrying over into this one.
Dejan Kulusevski (£6.5m) is expected to miss the first month due to May’s knee surgery. Popular upon FPL’s launch, managers are slowly ditching Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) and Destiny Udogie (£4.5m) because their only pre-season minutes came several weeks ago.
“I think it’s three different cases. I think Dom [Solanke] is quite soon that he’ll be available. Destiny [Udogie], we’ll know more about in the next couple of days, in terms of how it looks in detail. And Kulusevski is out for a long time, which I spoke about before.” – Thomas Frank after Thursday’s 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich
Worst of all, James Maddison (£7.0m) has ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament – a huge injury that’ll sideline him until 2026.
THEY’RE USED TO LOSING
Ok, it’s a fresh new start under Frank. But Spurs picked up a shocking five points from their final 12 league matches. In fairness, Europa League glory was the clear priority at this point, reflected by Postecoglou’s lineups.
However, the truth is that no team has ever lost more often in a 38-game Premier League season and survived.
Home defeats occurred against Ipswich Town and Leicester City. Those, plus fellow relegation victims Southampton, were the only sides with worse numbers for expected goals conceded (xGC, 64.42) and allowing big chances (119).
Can such a habit suddenly disappear?
TOTTENHAM: SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Without doubt, this summer’s biggest departure has been the emotional farewell of club and FPL legend Son Heung-min. After 10 years consisting of 173 goals, 101 assists and 1,730 Fantasy points, he believed it was time to take on a new challenge at Los Angeles FC.
That, combined with Maddison’s injury, will surely force Spurs back into the transfer market. They thought Morgan Gibbs-White‘s (£7.5m) release clause had been triggered, but things then took a weird turn. Nottingham Forest claimed the approach was illegal and the midfielder swiftly signed a new contract.
Elsewhere, the loans of Kevin Danso (£4.5m) and Mathys Tel (£6.5m) have been made permanent, while Timo Werner’s wasn’t. And a rare West Ham United to Tottenham transfer took place, one that has 25.1% of FPL managers excited about Kudus.
TOTTENHAM: PRE-SEASON FPL REPORTS
| Jul 19 | Reading 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (a) | Lankshear (Vuskovic assist), Vuskovic (Kudus assist) |
| Jul 26 | Luton Town 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur (a) |
| Jul 26 | Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers (h) | Sarr (Odobert assist), Sarr (Thompson assist) |
| Jul 31 | Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Arsenal (n) | Sarr |
| Aug 3 | Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Newcastle United (n) | Johnson (Danso assist) |
| Aug 7 | Bayern Munich 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur (a) |
| Aug 13 | Tottenham Hotspur v Paris Saint-Germain (n) |
Globetrotting Spurs have sampled the delights of South Korea, Hong Kong, Munich and Reading, with an imminent trip to Italy for the UEFA Super Cup.
The highlight so far has been the 1-0 win over Arsenal, where Kudus shone.
“I think he was really good today. His hold-up play, the way he takes hold of the ball in tricky situations. His one-vs-one skills, his creating opportunities for the team was top class. On top of that I think he’s working extremely hard and there was a recovery run from a set piece when he was straining all the way back and he won the ball.
“That’s how he can help the team so much. He will make a lot of the fans excited with his offensive actions and he will also help the team defensively.” – Thomas Frank on Mohammed Kudus’ performance v Arsenal
OPENING FIXTURES
The Members Area’s Fixture Ticker ranks Tottenham’s initial half-dozen as the seventh-best. Our ‘jump on jump off’ article suggests going heavy on them between Gameweeks 1 and 9, when only one is labelled as a ‘red’ match.
Then again, last season’s equivalent meetings brought a mixed record. They lost at Brighton and Hove Albion and drew against Bournemouth (h), West Ham United (a) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (h), yet pulled off a stunning 4-0 win away at Manchester City.
As for FPL rotations – either in defence or attack – the Tottenham fixtures dovetail nicely with those of Crystal Palace, Fulham and Wolves.
TOTTENHAM: PREDICTED FPL GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP
Hopefully, answers about both Solanke and Udogie will be provided in Wednesday’s Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain.
In a blow to FPL participants, it looks like Guglielmo Vicario (£5.0m) remains Frank’s number one goalkeeper over Antonin Kinsky (£4.0m).
Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) is now an option in midfield but against the low block of Burnley, you wonder whether he’s a necessary inclusion in Gameweek 1.
*This line-up prediction was made on August 9. For the latest predicted XI, check out of Team News tab closer to the deadline.
PLAYERS WITH DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION (DC) POTENTIAL
