Tottenham vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League crew information and line-ups as Son Heung-min match to start out
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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Ange Postecoglou up for the challenge as Tottenham battle Aston Villa again
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Son Heung-min and Micky van de Ven injury latest as Tottenham provide update
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.
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
Team news
While Villa have a full squad to choose from and no issues for Unai Emery to worry about, Spurs will be without one key man at either end of the pitch even as another returns at the opposite end. Micky van de Ven hurt his hamstring in midweek and will miss the games this side of the international break, but Son Heung-min should be ready to return in attack. Djed Spence is another potential returning face, but Wilson Odebert remains sidelined.