Tottenham vs Aston Villa tips and predictions: Short-handed Spurs to come under heavy fire
- George Dempsey
- 24 November 2023
Aston Villa will be looking to make the most of their trip to injury-hit Tottenham when they clash on Super Sunday (1400 GMT).
Tottenham have made a fantastic start to the season but the wheels are threatening to fall off as we approach the challenging festive period.
Back-to-back defeats against Wolves (2-1) and Chelsea (4-1) have seen them slip from first to fourth and their short-term goal will be keeping in touch with the big hitters.
On the other hand, Aston Villa have won three of four and are hot on the tails of the Premier League big boys. A win would lift them above their hosts.
The challenge for Unai Emery’s side is collecting points on the road. All three of those wins came at Villa Park where they’ve now rattled off 13 in a row.
It’s a different story on their travels. The Villains have won one of 10 away from home and have struggled to replicate their best goalscoring form.
Tottenham’s style should offer them the chance to exploit any mistakes, be it through a high press or on the counter, but you could argue they have to take the initiative.
Spurs’ injury crisis will force Ange Postecoglou to find the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Brennan Johnson and Giovanni Lo Celso, all of whom have seen limited minutes recently.
Maddison’s absence is the biggest blow but it’s worth noting that the absent group account for 48% of their goal involvements this season.
It’s still tough to split these teams on paper but the circumstances should give Emery’s side enough confidence to come here and have a go, so we’re expecting goals.
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Team news
Ivan Perisic, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon and Richarlison are ruled out, but Destiny Udogie could return.
Meanwhile, Christian Romero is serving a suspension for his red card against Chelsea and Yves Bissouma for yellow card accumulation.
Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings remain long-term absentees for Aston Villa.
Diego Carlos, Matty Cash, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey are all touch-and-go and will be assessed before the weekend.
Key stats
- Tottenham's list of absentees have scored eight goals and provided 11 assists in 12 matches.
- Since drawing 1-1 in May 2012, Tottenham and Villa haven't played out a draw in 18 meetings.
- Despite their red-hot home form, Aston Villa are winless in eight of 10 away from home.
- Villa have won three of five meetings, prior to which they'd won just one of the previous 19.
