James Maddison is raring to make an impact for Tottenham in the final four games.
Tottenham Hotspur travel to Aston Villa for a Premier League clash that could help Roberto De Zerbi’s side climb out of the relegation zone. However, the visitors must prevail at Villa Park and hope that West Ham United slip up against Brentford to have any hope of escaping the drop zone.
Tottenham picked up their maiden Premier League victory of 2026 against Wolves last weekend, as confidence and spirit slowly grows back in the side. With just four games remaining, Spurs have to treat every fixture as a do-or-die.
Unfortunately, De Zerbi has been dealt two major injury blows heading into the Aston Villa game. Xavi Simons is unlikely to return in 2026 after sustaining a torn ACL, while Dominic Solanke has been ruled out of the trip to Aston Villa following a hamstring injury picked up in the first half against Wolves.
Roberto De Zerbi reveals James Maddison plan ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Aston Villa
Fans have been eager to watch James Maddison play again for the Lilywhites. The England international has not featured this season because of an ACL injury, but was named on the bench against both Brighton and Wolves.
Arguably one of Tottenham’s best players, James Maddison has been tipped to make a difference for his side in the relegation battle by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. De Zerbi highly values the 29-year-old’s leadership and experience, thus including him on the bench in the past two games.
On Friday afternoon, De Zerbi was asked to provide an update on Maddison. The Italian boss explained is clearly eager to reintegrate the playmaker into his first XI, although a final decision on his involvement against Aston Villa remains dependent on various factors.
“Very well. I do not know, I would like to play with him because he’s a special player, but we need to consider the physical condition and a lot of things. I think he can be important in the next three games,” De Zerbi said in his press conference (h/t Football London).
Maddison expected to play a key role in Tottenham’s survival bid
Maddison’s return to the bench in the last couple of weeks suggests he is in the final stages of his recovery from an ACL injury. With Simons and Kudus ruled out for the remainder of the season, Spurs will undoubtedly need greater creative spark and guile in the middle of the park. Maddison could ideally be that player, providing incisiveness and dynamism to help Tottenham tick over.
However, it will be difficult to hit the ground running for the Englishman after nine months out. He has lost match sharpness, power, physicality and intensity, meaning the fans have to lower their expectations when Maddison returns on the pitch. By comparison to the current midfielders, the Coventry-born star represents elite technical quality, vision and spatial awareness operating as a No.10 where our gaffer requires more productivity.
De Zerbi and Tottenham need results now. Madders, despite his physical condition, is the best possible option to replace Simons and contribute in the final third. That said, it remains to be seen whether he gets involved against Villa in any capacity on Sunday.