(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sat 21 March 2026 18:00, UK

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Pedro Porro may have the outcome of Tottenham Hotspur’s relegation battle resting firmly in his hands on Sunday afternoon.

The Lilywhites are set to take on Nottingham Forest on home turf, knowing that defeat to their current closest rivals in the relegation battle would harm their survival chances immeasurably.

The right-back has been a crucial figure for the North London outfit this season, and they are now in a moment where they need their key players to stand up and be counted for Igor Tudor.

Porro is set to start on the right of the backline once again this weekend, and he will be tasked with completing one of the most important assignments of his team’s entire season.

Tottenham desperately need to beat Forest to re-establish some distance between themselves and the bottom three, and their chances of emerging victorious on Sunday are likely to hinge on their ability to shut down Morgan Gibbs-White.

Spurs can stop Nottingham Forest by stopping Morgan Gibbs-White

Tottenham have history with Gibbs-White after they launched a strong push to try and sign him after Forest qualified for the Europa League last summer.

They infamously triggered the attacking midfielder’s release clause in order to move towards a deal, only to find Forest’s controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis standing in their way in unprecedented fashion.

Gibbs-White’s influence at the City Ground has since grown even further in recent months, and he is now the driving force behind the Reds’ push for survival.

The former Wolves man is comfortably Forest’s biggest attacking threat, having registered more goal involvements and more shots on target than any other member of their squad so far this term.

Only Elliot Anderson has created more chances than the 26-year-old, whose performances tend to dictate his team’s fortunes in general.

Vitor Pereira has opted to play him on the left wing in recent weeks, meaning the responsibility looks set to fall on Porro to try and keep him quiet.

Forest’s lack of firepower elsewhere in the final third means that if he can manage that, then it will surely be enough for Tottenham to take all three points in the crucial clash on home turf.

Pedro Porro could be heading for exit at Tottenham

Football Insider revealed last weekend that Manchester City want to re-sign Porro this summer, as they look to take advantage of the Lilywhites’ struggles at the foot of the Premier League table.

Spurs understandably do not want to lose the Spanish star, but it remains to be seen whether the player himself would be keen to move to the Etihad Stadium after another difficult campaign in the capital.

With that in mind, it is possible that Porro is heading towards his final contributions in a Tottenham shirt, and he will surely be desperate to end on a positive note, if his intention is to move on.

The fate of Tudor’s men is unlikely to be sealed one way or the other by the result on Sunday, but it is undoubtedly a game that has the power to either put them in the driving seat to stay up, or ramp up the pressure on them even further.