De Zerbi backs ‘sensitive guy’ Solanke to find form before tricky Anfield trip

Spurs are winless in 17 visits and yet to score a league goal

Roberto De Zerbi has no doubt Dominic Solanke will rediscover his best levels as the head coach made clear he had left no stone unturned in the mission to solve Tottenham’s goalscoring problem.

Spurs go to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday after the 0-0 home draw with Everton in the Premier League on Saturday; they have not found the net in their four matches in the competition. Tottenham did beat Charlton 5-1 at home in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Solanke is the only forward in De Zerbi’s squad to have enjoyed a prolific season in England’s top division; he scored 19 times for Bournemouth in 2023-24, which convinced Tottenham to pay £55m for him. The 29-year-old has 22 additional goals in the Premier League, 12 of them for Spurs. De Zerbi has Omar Marmoush, who scored seven times in the league for Manchester City in the second half of 2024-25 after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in January. That apart, the pickings for De Zerbi’s attacking players have been slim in the competition.

Solanke, whose pre-season was undermined by an injury sustained on the club’s tour of New Zealand and Australia, was ineffective against Everton and a target for criticism is some quarters. De Zerbi will keep the faith. He remembers being amazed at how well Solanke played for Bournemouth against his Brighton team in September 2023. Brighton won 3-1 but Solanke scored. De Zerbi knows that when Solanke is fully fit the goals and performances will follow. He intends to involve the former Liverpool striker at Anfield, whether from the start or as a substitute.

“Dom is a sensitive guy,” De Zerbi said. “He needs to feel full confidence, and from myself, he has big, big confidence. I believe he can score 10-15 goals, for sure. He’s already scored in Bournemouth so why not he can score in Tottenham? It’s the same sport.

“[He is] sensitive because he’s a smart guy. Sensitive guys are smart. Maybe [he has had] many injuries, maybe he doesn’t feel in the best physical condition, maybe he would like to do something different on the pitch. But now he’s not fit yet. He has to play. It can be important for him [at Anfield]. And then I think he comes back to the player who was in Bournemouth. I remember Brighton v Bournemouth in the Amex Stadium; he was incredible. I said to my assistant: ‘Who is this striker?’”

De Zerbi continues to try to bond his players away from the pitch. He said he had again taken them for dinner in Mayfair last week and paid the bill. “As long as I keep some money for my cigarettes, then no problem,” he said with a smile.

De Zerbi is leaning heavily into video analysis, going through clips from matches in team meetings and giving the players individual ones to study. There has been an emphasis in training on attacking crosses in the right way and regaining possession in the final third. The players have also stayed behind for extra shooting practice of their own volition, De Zerbi said.

“If we want to change from the last two or three seasons we have to be stronger here,” he said, pointing to his head. “We have to believe in the quality of the players and the decisions we made one month ago. Or we change. You can change players or change coaches … change, change, change and nothing changes. Or you stay with the head, stay humble and with the right spirit to work. I believe in my players. I hope they believe in themselves like I believe in them.”

De Zerbi reported that Sandro Tonali would miss the Liverpool game with a knock. Pedro Porro is still out but Destiny Udogie is back. Richarlison will not be involved despite being eligible. Mohammed Kudus is ready to start. James Maddison is not. De Zerbi will make changes and he mentioned Marcos Senesi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall and Mathys Tel as being in contention to come into the XI. Spurs have not won at Anfield in 17 matches.