Premier League: Spurs and Villa Set to Clash After Contrasting Cup Fortunes

Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa

Two teams that are in different moods will square off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as the Spurs host the Villans for their next Premier League contest.

Tottenham’s confidence is high following their shocking 2-1 win to eliminate Manchester City in their EFL Cup Round of 16 tie last night. In contrast, Aston Villa were on the receiving end of a 2-1 upset at the hands of Crystal Palace.

There’s not much time to dwell on their recent EFL Cup results since the battle for places is heating up in the English top-flight, with Tottenham aiming to get to where Aston Villa are right now.

Aston Villa are the fourth-seed with 18 points, level with third-seeded Arsenal, while Tottenham are in eighth place with 13 points.

Without further ado, continue to read on below for the SBOTOP preview of this contest.

 

Talking Points

Tottenham got a boost from Werner

Ange Postecoglou had to rotate his squad because Tottenham have two games this week.

After two consecutive starts against AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace, Mikey Moore was sent back to the bench in favour of Timo Werner (alongside Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson up front), and the move paid off.

Werner scored his first goal in more than seven months to put Tottenham ahead against the Sky Blues, as he rifled the ball into the back of the net after a nifty cross by Dejan Kulusevski during a counterattack. Pape Matar Sarr put the game beyond doubt by scoring a second in the 25^th minute.

The last time Werner scored for the Spurs was against, you guessed it, Aston Villa. Because of his clinical finish, he might get the starting nod on Sunday since team captain Heung-Min Son is still nursing a thigh injury.

Meanwhile, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies, and Destiny Udogie might start against Aston Villa because there are fitness concerns about Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

Romero and van de Ven were subbed off, as the former is fatigued and the latter had a hamstring knock.

 

Fresh legs for Aston Villa’s Watkins

Aston Villa could’ve used a goal or two from Ollie Watkins to avoid the upset loss against Crystal Palace, but Unai Emery decided to give him the night off in favour of Jhon Duran.

Duran didn’t disappoint, as he scored the equaliser before Daichi Kamada won it for the Eagles. The Colombian now has six goals in all competitions, although he will likely go back to the bench.

Having Watkins back is a huge boost for the Villans since he is arguably their most dangerous player in the final third. The Englishman has five Premier League goals and the sixth-highest xG (4.3), although he has also missed the most big chances so far this season (8).

Meanwhile, Aston Villa supporters are happy to see Tyrone Mings back in the starting lineup against Crystal Palace after 445 days. The 31-year-old centre-back should be back on the bench against Spurs.

 

History

Tottenham crushed Aston Villa 4-0 in their previous Premier League matchup in March in a game that featured four different goal scorers, as the Villans were reduced to 10 men when John McGinn was sent off during the 65^th minute.

But, save for that defeat, Aston Villa have defeated Tottenham in three of their last four Premier League encounters (L1). Aston Villa have won in their last two visits to Tottenham in the league, and they can make it three straight for the first time since 1924.

With three wins and one draw, Aston Villa have the third-most points gathered from Premier League away games (10) at this juncture, only behind Liverpool (13) and Nottingham Forest (11).

The Villans have only won as many as four of their opening five away league matches in a season once before, which was in 2020-21 (W4, L1).

 

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 odds expect a relatively tight battle between Tottenham and Aston Villa. Despite being the inferior Premier League side, the Spurs are favoured to win at 1.92, whereas the Villans aren’t far behind at 3.27, and a draw is at 3.64 in the 1X2 market.

Predicting the winner of this contest is tough, but we’re sure that there will be goals and Premier League 2024 highlights coming from both sides this weekend, hence our recommended bet above.

Over 3.25 at 1.92, Over 3.50 at 2.17, and Total Goals 4-6 at 2.38 are also of great value, while Total Goals 2-3 at 2.19 is the more conservative yet realistic option.

   

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