In every big side that’s ever been relegated from the Premier League, there are several telling signs, until their draw at home to Brighton Spurs exhibited almost all of those. A squad full of players down on their ability and down on their luck, absolute chaos behind the scenes with no discernible direction and a huge disconnect between the fans and the club.

After sacking Igor Tudor at the end of March after just 44 days at the helm, Spurs looked all but finished as teams such as West Ham and Nottingham Forest started to gain traction and, most importantly, points. Tudor replaced the outgoing Thomas Frank, who, it could be argued, stayed in the job far too long when it was obvious for a long time the relationship wasn’t going to work. Frank left the side in 16th after winning just 13 of his 38 games in charge of Spurs, making him statistically the worst Tottenham manager in the side’s history.

There was hope that Tudor, a man known for putting out fires at clubs in the short-term, could come in and steady the ship before a re-think could happen at the end of the season. In what has been typical of Spurs’ this season, that plan effectively blew up in their faces. Tudor failed to win any of his five games in charge and only gained one point during his short tenure.

A family tragedy coupled with poor results led to his dismissal at the end of March and the club went all out for Roberto De Zerbi. Viewed initially as a summer appointment, De Zerbi was accelerated into the role on a five-year deal that baffled many. Known for both his volatility and his tactical skills, De Zerbi believes he can lead this broken side out of trouble.

However, pain is never too far away at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in his first game coupled with a last gasp 2-2 draw with Brighton has seen the sides performances improve, but most importantly their league position has not.

They now head to a side already down and out of steam with the hope of getting their first Premier League win of 2026.

Wolves have been flatlining since almost the start of the season, under now Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira, who won only two points from Wolves’ first 10 Premier League matches. When he was replaced with Rob Edwards, things hardly improved at Molyneux and come New Year’s Day, the Old Gold sat at the bottom with just three points to their name.

Edwards did oversee improvements in performances and managed hugely impressive wins over the likes of Liverpool and Aston Villa in early March. But the slump seems to have returned, and with relegation confirmed on Monday night, coupled with a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United, has shown the side down and out.

Returning to the second tier for the first time since 2018, Wolves will be keen to have their say in who joins them next season in the Championship and eager to inflict further damage on an already badly wounded Spurs team.

Wolves have had their share of injuries this season that have contributed to what has been a drastically bad season, and it was compounded at the weekend when midfielder Angel Gomes was brought off with an ankle injury that is more than likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Gomes is on loan from Marseille and is likely to return to his parent club in the summer.

Elsewhere, defending mainstay Ladislav Krejci is also out for the foreseeable future with a back injury, leaving the Old Gold light at the back once more, which is made even worse by Mosquera being suspended for picking up his 10th yellow of the season against Leeds, which rules him out of this one.

As for Spurs, their treatment room has been at full capacity for the entire season and shows no signs of clearing out. Mohammed Kudus was supposed to return to the first team against Sunderland last week until it was revealed that he had suffered a set-back in his recovery from a thigh issue that may require surgery.

Also missing the rest of the season through injury are Wilson Odobert, who fractured his ACL against Newcastle in February, and Dejan Kulusevski, who has missed almost a year of first-team action.

Cristian Romero was taken off during the side’s defeat to Sunderland, and it has since been confirmed that he will miss the rest of the season and potentially the World Cup through injury.

There has potentially been more misery for the Spurs faithful as rumours were circulating today that full-back Destiny Udogie is also a doubt for this one. All of this makes Saturday’s tie that much more interesting.