Aston Villa v Tottenham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Aston Villa host Tottenham at Villa Park on Sunday. Unai Emery’s team have not been at their best in home matches of late with three losses in the last four. Spurs are winless in three away matches. The reverse meeting saw Villa win 2-1 on the road.

Aston Villa Form

Villa have been inconsistent of late. A 3-1 home loss to Newcastle came on the back of 16 home wins in 18 fixtures before that. A 3-1 home loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup and a 2-1 home defeat to Man Utd followed.

They put those setbacks behind them by winning 2-1 at Fulham and then beating Nottingham Forest 4-2 at home. Last weekend, they won 3-2 at Luton thanks to a late Lucas Digne goal. On Thursday night, goals were expected in Amsterdam in the Europa League at Ajax. Instead, Villa managed just four shots in a 0-0 draw.

Aston Villa Team News

Unai Emery remains without playmaker Emi Buendia and defender Tyrone Mings due to long-term injuries. Boubacar Kamara is out for the rest of the season and Jhon Duran is a doubt.

Diego Carlos is fit after injury at the back and Ezri Konsa is available as his midweek red card was in Europe. Jacob Ramsey is out so John McGinn will return to the starting XI on the left.

Aston Villa Motivation

This is a huge match for Villa in the race for a Champions League spot. They looked distracted on Thursday night so full attention should be on this match.

They will look to attack at home but also know that Spurs will leave space for counters. In stages, they may sit back and invite pressure.

Tottenham Form

Spurs have won seven of their last 11 league matches and look a good bet to finish in the top four. They’re doing it by outscoring opponents as they’ve conceded in 17 of their last 19 matches in all competitions. After a run of one loss in seven (five wins) before losing 1-0 at home to Man City in the FA Cup with just one shot on goal.

They’ve since played out five entertaining matches. They beat Brentford 3-2 and conceded in the last minute to draw 2-2 at Everton. A very late goal scored sealed a 2-1 home win over Brighton before losing 2-1 at home to Wolves. Their last match saw them trailing 1-0 to Crystal Palace after 76 minutes before scoring three goals to win 3-1.

Tottenham Team News

Pedro Porro missed the Crystal Palace game, but he should be back to start this one. Richarlison looked set to be out for a while but he’s back in training and could be on the bench.

Manor Solomon, Ryan Sessegnon, and Fraser Forster are all ruled out. Brennan Johnson assisted two goals as a sub last weekend and could start. Pape Sarr will hope for a recall in central midfield.

Tottenham Motivation

Postecoglou’s side tend to dominate possession and commit a lot of men forward. They had 78% of the ball against Crystal Palace.

Spurs will play to win at Villa Park and won’t settle for a draw.

Key Stats

Aston Villa have lost 3 of their last 4 home matches (all competitions)

Aston Villa have won 17 of their last 20 home EPL matches

Spurs have won 7 of their last 11 EPL matches

Tottenham have conceded in 17 of their last 19 matches (32 goals conceded)

Spurs’ last 9 EPL matches have seen Both Teams to Score Yes (4.0 goals per game: 20 scored, 16 conceded)

Verdict

This match should be full of goals. Spurs usually concede and score in every game and Villa are leaking goals at home of late.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 1.83

Value Bet: Draw at 3.90

High-Value Bet: Both Teams to Score in Both Halves at 6.00

Goalscorer Tip: Watkins and Son to both score anytime at 5.98

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis