Matchday Four: Villa, Tottenham, Coventry search for season’s first EPL goal

Three Premier League teams will head into Matchday 4 still searching for their first goal of the season after Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and newly promoted Coventry City endured goalless starts to the 2026/27 campaign, PUNCH Online reports.
While the three clubs share the unwanted distinction, their circumstances differ significantly.
Villa and Tottenham entered the season with ambitions extending well beyond survival, whereas Coventry are back in the top flight and have already faced two of the division’s strongest sides.
PUNCH Online reports that the EPL match week four games will be played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, September 12-14, 2026.
Aston Villa: one point, no goals
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa have endured the most concerning start of the three.
Villa opened their campaign with a 4-0 defeat at Brighton, before suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
FILE: Unai Emery
They then drew 0-0 at Hull City on Saturday.
The Hull game offered little relief. Villa created opportunities but failed to convert, with Emiliano Buendía missing from close range.
This result left Emery’s side with just one point from three matches and still without a league goal.
Their attacking numbers are particularly worrying.
The Times reported that Villa had managed only one shot on target across their opening three league matches, their lowest such return since 2003-04.
Emery, meanwhile, remains an experienced manager who has already taken Villa into the Champions League.
That makes the early attacking problems more striking, although three games are far too early to regard the season as lost.
Villa’s next assignment gives them an immediate opportunity to respond: Nottingham Forest at home on September 12.

There is hope, therefore, but the pressure will increase quickly if Villa fail to score again.
Tottenham: new manager, familiar attacking problem
Tottenham’s situation is different because they are also adapting to a new manager, Roberto De Zerbi.
Spurs began with a 0-0 draw against Brentford, lost 2-0 at Newcastle United, and then drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Newcastle defeat exposed some of their attacking limitations, while the Forest draw provided another frustrating afternoon in front of goal.
Spurs actually had the ball in the net against Forest, but Neco Williams’ effort for the hosts was ruled out by VAR.
Tottenham themselves remained unable to find a way through despite chances for Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke.
De Zerbi’s challenge is therefore twofold: establish his methods and get his attacking players functioning quickly.
Spurs new coach De Zerbi looks on as Brentford win 3-0
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Their organisation and spirit have been positive, but their decision-making in the final third remains a concern.
Their Matchday 4 fixture is Everton at home on September 12.
That could be a particularly important game for De Zerbi.
A first goal would remove some of the immediate anxiety; a first win would change the mood altogether.
Coventry: difficult fixtures, but no reward yet
Coventry’s position needs more context.
The newly promoted side began life back in the Premier League with a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, before losing 2-1 at home to Hull City. They then travelled to Manchester City and were beaten 1-0 by the champions.

So Coventry have lost all three matches and scored just once? No — they have scored zero, meaning they join Villa and Spurs as the division’s three goalless sides.
Their schedule, however, offers some explanation. They have already faced Arsenal and Manchester City, two sides expected to challenge near the top of the table.
Against City on Saturday, Coventry were competitive despite the defeat.
Haaland’s goal settled the contest, but Coventry created late opportunities and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into saves.
Frank Lampard therefore has something to build on despite the results. The immediate priority is not simply scoring but turning competitive performances into points.
Coventry’s Matchday 4 fixture is Brighton & Hove Albion at home on September 13.
That represents perhaps the clearest opportunity among the three to break the drought.
Where is the hope?
For Villa, the answer lies in experience and squad quality. Emery has taken the club into the Champions League, and one poor opening month would not erase the progress made under him.
But another blank against Forest would make the attacking crisis harder to dismiss.
For Tottenham, the biggest variable is De Zerbi.
A new manager needs time, but goals are usually the quickest way to create confidence. Everton at home allows Spurs to put their first three matches behind them.
For Coventry, the fixture list provides the strongest defence. Arsenal and Manchester City were always going to be difficult assignments, while Hull have unexpectedly started the campaign unbeaten.
Their next opponent, Brighton, offers Lampard’s team a more realistic opportunity to get both their first goal and first point.
Three teams, therefore, arrive at Matchday 4 with the same statistic — zero goals — but very different levels of concern.

Villa need their attack to wake up. Tottenham need De Zerbi’s ideas to translate into goals. Coventry need to show that their difficult opening schedule has hidden a team capable of competing in the Premier League.
The next weekend could provide the first answer.

Tosin Oyediran
Tosin Oyediran is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of professional experience in reporting and storytelling. He is known for conducting incisive interviews and producing compelling human-angle stories that bring clarity and depth to the news. Tosin covers a broad range of beats including politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment, with a strong focus on people-centred reporting. His work reflects firsthand newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to accurate, engaging, and trustworthy journalism.

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