Tottenham's Tactical Shift: De Zerbi's Gamble Without Key Full-Backs

Tottenham fans walked up to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium expecting a reaction to last weekend’s stalemate at Nottingham Forest. Instead, the first jolt of the afternoon came before a ball had even been kicked.

No Pedro Porro. No Destiny Udogie.

Two names usually inked into the team sheet were nowhere to be seen, not even among the substitutes, as Everton came to town. The omission of both full-backs, so central to the way Roberto De Zerbi wants his side to play, instantly reshaped the feel of the contest.

De Zerbi’s calculated gamble

The Italian had already hinted this might be coming. On Friday, sitting in front of the cameras, De Zerbi didn’t bother to hide the truth: he was worried about pushing his full-backs too far, too soon.

"Porro felt a small muscular problem, we have to see tomorrow if he’s available or not but in this moment I don’t want to take any risks. The same [with] Udogie," he said.

This wasn’t a late panic. It was a decision brewing over days.

De Zerbi pointed to the sheer load Porro has carried in recent months. "Porro and Udogie are similar players because one, Pedro played a World Cup, a long World Cup and we already knew after the World Cup it could be a difficult management for him," he explained. High-intensity football, international duty, a relentless schedule – the bill has arrived.

Udogie’s case is even more sensitive. Tottenham know exactly what it looks like when his body starts to betray him, and they are desperate not to relive it.

"For Udogie, last season [he] suffered many injuries, he played 60 minutes in Nottingham and we have to manage also Destiny in the best way we can," De Zerbi added. It was a manager drawing a line: better to lose them for a day than for a month.

A reshaped back line

With both first-choice full-backs out, attention snapped to the replacements. This was no gentle introduction.

Archie Gray, still a teenager but already carrying a sizeable reputation after his move from Leeds United, found himself thrust into a key role. Versatile, technically sharp, tactically intelligent – all the labels are there. But this was Everton, with physical wingers and direct runners. Theory meets reality.

On the opposite flank, Andy Robertson brought something very different: scars and experience from years of high-pressure Premier League battles. De Zerbi needed him to do more than just defend. He needed Robertson to mimic the aggressive, inverted movements and overlapping surges that make Udogie such a weapon in the final third.

The balance of the side shifted. The usual patterns down both wings had to be rewritten on the fly. One youngster adapting to a new stage, one veteran adjusting to a new script.

Fernandes buys into the project

All of this unfolded against the backdrop of a Tottenham side still searching for their first win of the campaign. On paper, the mood could easily have darkened. Inside the camp, Matheus Fernandes insisted otherwise.

The £85m summer signing spoke with the conviction of someone who knows exactly why he chose this project. The midfielder arrived from West Ham after a standout spell in East London, turning down serious interest from Manchester United to work under De Zerbi in North London.

"I believe that I can be a much better player than I was last season," the Portuguese international said. He looked around the dressing room and saw the platform he wanted. "If you look at the squad, it's a big team with big players, important players, players with experience, players with a lot of quality. So, when you play with better players, I think you play better. So, I believe that I can be much better."

Those are not the words of a player spooked by a slow start. They’re the words of someone betting on the long game.

Risk, reward, and the road ahead

So Tottenham went into a key home fixture missing both of their first-choice full-backs, leaning on a teenager learning on the job and a seasoned campaigner asked to reinvent his role, all while an £85m midfielder talked up the future.

De Zerbi has made his call: protect Porro and Udogie now, trust the depth, and ride out the turbulence. If the project is to deliver what Fernandes believes it can, this is exactly the kind of afternoon that will show whether Tottenham truly have the squad – and the steel – to back up their ambition.