Pedro Porro Set to Return for Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Pedro Porro will be back for Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Saturday, with Roberto De Zerbi doubling down on his attacking obsession despite another bruising night at Anfield.
The Spaniard, described as having a “muscular issue”, sat out Spurs’ last two matches but is set to return for the lunchtime kick-off in north London. His comeback offers a badly needed boost to a side still hunting their first league goal of the season.
Spurs were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, a third-round exit that underlined both the chaos and the promise of De Zerbi’s approach. The Italian, though, refused to blink.
“I believe in my players, I have a big confidence, a big opinion of my players,” he said after the defeat. “And when we arrive to find the click, to win a game, I think we enjoy with these players.”
That “click” has become the early-season riddle at Tottenham. The patterns are there, the territory is there, but the goals are not. Villa arrive as dangerous opponents, yet De Zerbi is leaning even harder into the idea that attack is the way out.
One major reason for that belief: Mohammed Kudus.
The Ghana international made his first Tottenham start at Anfield since suffering a long-term quad injury in January. It was a significant moment for both player and manager, and De Zerbi made no attempt to hide how central he sees Kudus to his plans.
“Kudus is another (who is) great news for us, because he can play also as a number 10,” De Zerbi said. “We can play with Savio, Kudus, (Dominic) Solanke and (Omar) Marmoush.”
Those four alone sketch out a front line with pace, flair and movement. De Zerbi then pushed the idea even further. With the right blend of midfielders and full-backs, he insisted, Spurs can effectively line up with “eight attackers”.
It is not just a throwaway line. It is his manifesto.
That mindset also shapes his view of James Maddison, another of Tottenham’s creative pillars edging his way back to full fitness.
Maddison has not started a match since May 2025 after a cruciate ligament tear, and his return has been complicated by a shoulder fracture. He has been limited to three substitute appearances this season, carefully reintroduced into games that have often been played at frantic pace.
“Maddison is for sure a different player, a special player,” De Zerbi said. “But he has to be fit, he has to be in the right physical condition, because the Premier League intensity, even tonight, is incredible. And then we can play with eight attackers.”
The message is clear. Once Maddison is ready to start, once Kudus has rhythm, once Porro is flying down the flank again, De Zerbi wants Spurs to overwhelm teams, not edge past them.
For now, though, the table is blunt: no league goals, no league wins. Villa will not care about Tottenham’s attacking theory. They will test its reality.
De Zerbi is betting that the moment “the click” comes, it will change everything. Saturday lunchtime would be a timely place to prove it.
