Tottenham return to the Champions League after a two-year absence as they take on La Liga side Villarreal.
- Date: 16/09/2025
- Kick-off: 8:00pm
- Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, North London
Thomas Frank's side have enjoyed a good start to the season, claiming three wins and one loss. A 3-0 win over Burnley, a 2-0 win at Manchester City, a 0-1 defeat to Bournemouth and a 3-0 win over West Ham represent a very impressive set of results, with eight goals scored and only one conceded.
Spurs will hope that the best is yet to come, too, with new signings such as Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani yet to fully integrate into the team, in addition to the squad still getting to grips with a new way of doing things under a manager in his first season at the club.
Tottenham are unbeaten in their last six games in Europe (excluding penalties), winning five of those, and didn't lose a single home game in Europe last season, winning five and drawing two. The fact they've kept three clean sheets from four games will be hugely encouraging for them too, and they'll come into this game immensely confident about their chances.
Villarreal enter this game with two wins, one draw and one loss from four league games. The Yellow Submarine kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo, followed by a 5-0 win over Girona, a 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo and a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid.
Villarreal finished 5th in La Liga last season and have seen a significant amount of squad turnover during the summer. Key players Alex Baena, Thierno Barry and Yeremi Pino all left the club, while Georges Mikautadze, Renato Veiga and Alberto Moleiro all joined for big fees. The general feeling is that Villarreal are a weaker outfit than they were last season, but they still possess enough quality to be a nuisance to top teams.
Overall, Villarreal are playing a Spurs side that have started the season very strongly and look excellent defensively, and away from home, they face a huge uphill battle.
Tottenham 2-0 Villarreal
