Tottenham entertain Aston Villa in North London on Sunday afternoon, hoping to reduce the gap to the Champions League places.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have lost two of their last three in the Premier League to drop to 10th in the table, though secured a big win against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup last time out.
Postecoglou will be without Micky van de Ven until after November’s international break after the Dutchman was forced off with a hamstring strain against City in midweek. However, Spurs captain Heung-min Son should be recalled to the team after injury.
Ross Barkley is the only notable absence for Aston Villa as Unai Emery announced the midfielder was out with an unspecified issue. The recent return of Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara from long-term knee injuries has added to Emery’s options.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa – Match preview and team news
Form
Tottenham: LWWLW
Eight wins from 10 matches across all competitions suggests Spurs are in fine form, though the optics have not aligned with that impressive run of results. Defeats to Brighton and Crystal Palace in their last three Premier League games leaves Spurs off the pace, despite making positive strides in Europe and cup competition.
Spurs were woeful in defeat to Palace last week, as the Eagles secured their first win of the Premier League season against Postecoglou’s side. Improvement was on show in midweek, however, as Spurs defeated a depleted Manchester City to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Coming up next… ⏳
👉 @Castrol pic.twitter.com/e8XfFvtyS2
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 2, 2024
Posteocoglou’s promise of second-season silverware has edged a little closer, though the fans will want an upturn in their league results. This weekend’s clash with top-four contending Aston Villa would be the perfect place to start.
Aston Villa: DWWDL
Aston Villa will want to bounce back from midweek disappointment after falling short in their bid to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The result followed a draw with Bournemouth last weekend that saw The Villans concede a stoppage-time equaliser.
Unai Emery’s side then lost at home to Crystal Palace with a rotated team bowing out of the competition. However, their exit to an Eagles side at full strength was just a second defeat of the season in 14 games across all competitions, following another strong start under the Spaniard’s management.
Unai on preparing for Sunday’s game: “Every match we are playing, we are trying to identify our corrections, our mistakes, our process and we are analysing how we are now and how are they, with the players they have.” pic.twitter.com/09OxcJT3Vg
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 1, 2024
Jhon Duran scored again in midweek and is pushing for a place in the team, though Ollie Watkins is expected to retain his place at centre-forward. A win would lift Villa up to third, four points behind leaders Liverpool.
Last Meeting: Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham, Premier League, 10th March 2024.
Tottenham ran riot at Villa Park last March as they put four past their top-four rivals.
After a hard-fought first half, Spurs drew first blood five minutes after the restart courtesy of a brisk counter-attack. Pape Matar Sarr curled a sumptuous ball into the path of James Maddison who dispatched past Emiliano Martinez on the volley to put his team in front.
The mood around Villa Park shifted and it wasn’t long before Spurs found the net again. Ezri Konsa’s loose pass was intercepted by Dejan Kulusevski, who played in Heung-min Son and the Tottenham skipper teed up Brennan Jonson to score.
Tempers boiled over when John McGinn was shown a straight red card for a forceful challenge on Destiny Udogie. From them on in it was a blissful ending to the game for Ange Postecoglou’s side and they extended their lead further as the game drew to an end.
Son netted again as he smashed in the third beyond Martinez’s reach before Timo Werner concluded the thrashing with a clever finish.
Four goals, three points and a clean sheet represented a statement performance from the Lilywhites, but Villa would have the last laugh after pipping their opponents to Champions League football.
Predicted Lineups
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Kulusevski, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bailey, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers; Watkins.
Who is the referee?
Craig Pawson will be the match official. He will be assisted by James Mainwaring and Wade Smith while Peter Bankes will be the fourth official. The VAR will be David Coote and he will be assisted by Richard West.
What channel is Tottenham vs Aston Villa on?
Tottenham vs Aston Villa will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Go UK, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be at 14:00 GMT on Sunday 3rd November 2024.
Odds
Tottenham – 10/11
Draw – 3/1
Aston Villa – 13/5
Read – Liverpool grasp the nettle as Arsenal and Man City falter in quest for title
See more – Postecoglou says Spurs fans right to be unhappy with Palace performance
