Unai Emery hopes Villa can turn dominant performances into wins but they face a tough test away at Spurs today
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Tottenham Hotspur look to bounce back from a shock defeat to Crystal Palace when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League this afternoon.
Spurs lost 1-0 at Selhurst Park a week ago but responded with a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. Ange Postecoglou will hope that victory brings some momentum to his team as they seek to progress further up the league table and challenge for the top four spot.
Villa already occupy one of those places. They come into the weekend fourth in the table, level on points with Arsenal. Though it is too soon to call the title challengers a win over top six opposition like Tottenham will take them one step closer to the trophy. Unai Emery’s men have not lost in the league since a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in August, a run of seven matches which has kept them in touch with the top of the table.
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Head-to-head
These two sides have met a total of 174 times, with the first match dating back to 1903.
Villa have won 60, with Spurs winning 78 and 36 ending as draws.
Last season, Spurs lost 2-1 in the home fixture before surprising the league with a 4-0 win at Villa Park in March, though it wasn’t enough to finish above the Villans.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:30
Ange Postecoglou up for the challenge as Tottenham battle Aston Villa again
Ange Postecoglou has insisted Sunday’s visitors Aston Villa deserve to be in the Champions League instead of Tottenham, but hopes to “get on top of them” this time around.
Spurs and Villa were top-four rivals during the 2023-24 campaign and the Midlands club claimed fourth spot by a two-point margin.
Fifth could have secured Champions League football if English clubs had performed strongly across Europe’s three competitions, but Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham and Brighton failed to go beyond the quarter-final stage and Villa exited the Conference League in the last four.
Ange Postecoglou up for the challenge as Tottenham battle Aston Villa again
Tottenham and Villa renew acquaintances on Sunday after they fought for fourth spot last season.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:22
Unai Emery claims Tottenham are ‘favourites’ to finish above Aston Villa
Unai Emery insists Tottenham are bigger contenders to finish in the Premier League’s top four than his Aston Villa side this season.
Villa visit north London on Sunday having made a bright start to the campaign and sit five points better off.
They have also topped Spurs in the table in the last two seasons, but the Spaniard says the budget of Tottenham means they are favourites for the match and to finish above them in the league.
Unai Emery claims Tottenham are ‘favourites’ to finish above Aston Villa
Villa visit north London on Sunday having made a bright start to the campaign and sit five points better off
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:15
How the table looks
These two sides are certainly among those battling for Champions League qualification next season, though it’s Villa who have started stronger out of the two.
Unai Emery’s side sit fifth on 18 points with a game in hand over the teams above them, and they could move into third with a win today.
Spurs have had a more mixed start to 2024/25, despite showing some real signs of promise, and they lie in 10th on 13 points.
Ange Postecoglou’s men could move to seventh place with a win today.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:10
Unai Emery knows raising standards at Aston Villa brings pressure
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is relishing the pressure which comes with his side challenging at the top of the game.
Emery has revolutionised Villa’s fortunes since taking over in 2022, taking them from a relegation fight to the Champions League.
They have won their opening three games in European’s premier competition and sit in the top four of the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s visit to Tottenham.
Unai Emery knows raising standards at Aston Villa brings pressure
The Spaniard has revolutionised Villa’s fortunes since taking over in 2022.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:05
Team news
For Villa, there are no changes to the side that drew with Bournemouth in the league last week.
Tyrone Mings remains on the bench after his return from a long injury layoff, with Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa having cemented their places in the starting 11.
The midfield four remains the same as last week, with McGinn starting on the left and Ramsey on the right, with Onana and Tielemans in the more central roles.
Jhon Duran remains on the bench in favour of Ollie Watkins, with Morgan Rogers playing just behind him in the advanced midfield role.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 13:00
Team news
Ange Postecoglou has made four changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Palace last time out in the league.
In defence, the inured Micky van de Ven is replaced by Radu Dragusin, while in attack, 17-year-old Mikey Moore comes out in favour on Heung-min Son.
In midfield, Yves Bussouma and James Maddison drop out, and they’re replaced by Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 12:52
Line-ups
Spurs XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Subs: Forster, Davies, Gray, Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison, Moore, Werner, Richarlison.
Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Onana, Tielemans, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Olsen, Maatsen, Carlos, Mings, Kamars, Philogene, Buendia, Bailey, Duran.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 12:47
Son Heung-min and Micky van de Ven injury latest as Tottenham provide update
Tottenham are set to be without Micky van de Ven until after the international break but could be boosted by the return of captain Son Heung-min ahead of the visit of Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Spurs advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup by handing Manchester City their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, but the 2-1 win came at a cost as Van de Ven limped off in tears after suffering a hamstring injury.
The centre-back missed two months of last season with a hamstring problem but manager Ange Postecoglou said Van de Ven had only suffered a “strain” and was hopeful this latest injury was not as serious.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 12:40
Predicted line-ups
We’ll have full team news at around 12.45pm, but for now here are the predicted line-ups.
TOT - Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie, Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski, Johnson, Solanke, Son
AVL - Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Onana, Tielemans, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 12:30