Andoni Iraola has claimed that Bournemouth should be on their “very best” when they travel to Tottenham on Saturday.
Thomas Frank wants to expand the winning start on his part with a third consecutive victory, which will only mark the fourth time in the competition that they have won their first three games, earlier in 2009-10, 2018-19 and 2021-22.
Spurs surprised Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on their travels last weekend with a 2-0 win, thanks to the first half of goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha, who followed a comfortable 3-0 win over Burnley during the opening week.
In the meantime, Bournemouth opened their 2025-26 account with a 4-2 defeat in Anfield, before he conquered Wolves on their return to vitality when they hit 1-0 victors.
After his side had been deposited from the EFL Cup on Tuesday and lost 2-0 to Brentford, Iraola insists that all focus now focuses on the Challenge Spurs-Actrency: “The priority is to recover well and prepare itself, because we are playing against a team that just came out of a win against City Away, two points.
“We will have to be on our utmost.”
Back at home on Saturday
@Castrol pic.twitter.com/ZW5US2DMBR
– Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial) 27 August 2025
Spurs want to register a third consecutive clean sheet against the cherries while trying to keep the pressure at the top.
They are in second place in the competition on target difference behind bitter rivals Arsenal, with Liverpool the only other team that so far all wins their matches.
Despite enjoying a razor -sharp start to their campaign, Spurs will be on their care to combat the men of Iraola, who have won only one of their last three against the cherries (D1 L1), sending six goals in the process.
But Palhinha is so far impressed by the mentality of the team and praised them for their attitude in digging deep for a victory against City.
“What I get out of the game is the mentality of the team and the way I saw my teammates lag behind, helping each other. This is what makes me proud, to be honest,” he said.
“At the end of the game, you know, you see that mentality, and this is why we push and push each other, because I think when we are like that, we are much closer to winning games.”
Players to watch
Tottenham – Brennan Johnson
Johnson's well-documented inconsistencies during the 2024-25 campaign were answered in one when the Welshman scored the decisive goal in last season's Europa League final, ending the 17-year waiting time of Spurs on silverware.
The 24-year-old has scored two goals this period in two games for Tottenham, and is currently one of only two players who have split back-to-back games.
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo
Just like Johnson, Antoine Semenyo also has two goals to his name this season, after he has scored a brace against Liverpool. The attacker was an integral part of Bournemouth's efforts last season, with 16 targeted involvement in the competition.
The 25-year-old played a role in eight of the last 10 Premier League goals of the Cherries (six goals and two assists).
Match forecast: Tottenham Win
TOTTENHAM -Head coach Frank has confronted Bournemouth more times in the Premier League without defeat than any other opponent, with four victories and two draw in six meetings. Among rival managers, only David Moyes has more defeats for him (five) ago than Andoni Iraola (three).
After his opening of two league games that are in charge of Spurs, Frank only wants to become the second Tottenham manager who starts with three straight victories of the Top-Flight, an achievement that was previously achieved by Nuno Espirito Santo in 2021.
Historically, Spurs have dominated this luminaire and won 11 of their 16 league games with Bournemouth, although the Cherries decreased four points from them last season.
But Bournemouth has earned more points in their six games against Spurs since they returned to the Premier League in 2022 (Seven – W2 D1 L3) than in 10 games in their first Stint between 2015 and 2020 (five – W1 D2 L7).
Bournemouth is unbeaten in their last six away Premier League matches in London (W1 D5), after they have lost 17 of their previous 23 games in the capital (W3 D3).
Opta wins probability
Tottenham – 52.7%
Drawing – 22.7%
Bournemouth – 24.6%