Aston Villa and Tottenham battle it out for a place in the FA Cup fifth round at Villa Park tonight.
Both sides will be looking to bounce back after losing their last match. Unai Emery’s side fell to a 2-0 away defeat to Wolves while the Lilywhites were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool.
Villa will be without talisman Ollie Watkins and central defender Tyrone Mings for the visit of Spurs. Watkins was substituted at half-time against Wolves after sustaining a groin injury. The pair join Matty Cash, Pau Torres and Ross Barkley on the sidelines.
Deadline day signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are poised to make their first appearance for their new team. Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi is cup-tied after appearing for his parent club against Morecambe in the previous round.
The new boys 👋 pic.twitter.com/VhJLQn28eR
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 6, 2025
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed none of his injured players will return this weekend. The squad is one lighter for their trip to Birmingham due to Richarlison suffering a calf injury against Liverpool.
The Australian manager tentatively announced that he expects two or three players to be reintegrated over the next few days.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham – Match preview and team news
Form
Aston Villa: DLDWL
Villa lost their first Premier League game of 2025 at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday.
A lacklustre display was punished by Vitor Pereira’s outfit as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Matheus Cunha sealed the three points.
Unai Emery and his players have struggled for consistency in recent weeks after commencing the calendar year with three straight victories.
A narrow defeat in the Champions League to Monaco was cancelled out by a dramatic 4-2 win over Celtic a week later.
Meanwhile, they have slipped to eighth position in the Premier League after three games without a win.
Tottenham: WLWWL
It was a woeful Thursday night for Tottenham Hotspur as they were knocked out of the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
The Lilywhites took a 1-0 lead going into the second leg against Liverpool, but any optimism was quickly wiped out.
Cody Gakpo drew the aggregate score level in the first half and the Reds flexed their superiority in the second half to win 4-0.
Prior to that abysmal performance, Tottenham had actually won three out of their last four games.
This evening’s game could be crucial for the future of Ange Postecoglou. A second cup exit in the space of 72 hours could see the pressure mount on the Australian.
Last Meeting: Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa, Premier League, 3rd November 2024
A commanding second-half display from Spurs saw them beat Aston Villa 4-1 back in November.
The visitors had gone into the interval with the advantage courtesy of an opening goal from Morgan Rogers.
An in-swinging corner from Lucas Digne wasn’t dealt with adequately and after bouncing around the box the ball fell to Rogers who poked in from two yards out.
Tottenham restored parity within five minutes of the restart with Brennan Johnson bundling home from close range. The chance was engineered by captain Heung-min Son. Positive and direct play from the South Korean saw him skilfully perplex Matty Cash before crossing in a perfect pass for Johnson.
Neither team were able to impose themselves until Ange Postecoglou’s side took the initiative. A well-timed pass from Dejan Kulusevski found Dominic Solanke who calmly dinked a finish over the outstretched hand of Emiliano Martinez.
Spurs’ record signing doubled his tally for the afternoon almost instantly. Pape Matar Sarr picked up a loose ball before releasing Richarlison. The Brazilian cleverly teed up Solanke who couldn’t miss from five yards out.
The hosts’ afternoon was capped off in style in stoppage-time by James Maddison. The Englishman caught Martinez out with a quickly taken free-kick that flew over the wall and into the back of the net.
Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa: Martinez; Garcia, Kamara, Konsa, Maatsen; Tielemans, Onana, McGinn; Rogers, Malen, Ramsey.
Tottenham: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Gray, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Tel, Son.
Who is the referee?
Anthony Taylor will be the match official. Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn will assist him while Simon Hooper will be the fourth official. VAR will not be in operation.
What TV channel will Aston Villa vs Tottenham be on?
Aston Villa vs Tottenham will be available to watch on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Online.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off at Villa Park will be at 17:35 GMT on Sunday 9th February 2025.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham Match Odds
Aston Villa: 7/10
Draw: 10/3
Tottenham: 16/5
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