Aston Villa vs Tottenham news: Spurs need to capitalise on rare top four opportunity
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane (left) celebrates with Sergio Reguilon
With Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all dropping points in recent games, Tottenham have a rare chance to add credibility to their top four challenge.
Back in February, Tottenham appeared to have completely blown any chance of Champions League qualification after suffering a run of four defeats from five games.
Spurs found themselves eighth in the standings as yet another season in the Europa Conference League seemed the best Antonio Conte's men could hope for.
However, since their 1-0 defeat away at Burnley, Tottenham have gone on to win five from six and have miraculously reignited their top four ambitions.
This weekend, Conte's men host an out-of-form Aston Villa side at one of their favourite stadiums in recent years - Villa Park.
Spurs have won seven straight visits to the ground, and if they can make it eight, they could further reaffirm their Champions League aspirations.
When: Saturday, April 9, 17:30 BST
Where: Villa Park
Where to watch: Sky Sports
Who is the ref for Aston Villa vs Tottenham?
Graham Scott will take charge of action at Villa Park in what will be his 11th outing in the Premier League this season.
Both teams have experienced defeats under Scott, with Spurs falling to a 1-0 loss against Burnley and Villa losing on penalties against Chelsea in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Season stats 2021/22: Matches (10), yellow cards (31), red cards (0), penalties (1)
Recent form
It's almost exactly one month since Tottenham were single-handedly torn to shreds by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Manchester United forward scored a hat-trick as the Red Devils beat Spurs 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Since then, Conte's men have rolled up their sleeves and got to serious work, winning all of their following three fixtures against Brighton, West Ham and Newcastle.
Along the way, Tottenham have bagged an impressive 10 goals and conceded just two.
Aston Villa, in contrast, have made a 180 degree turnaround in results since their 3-0 thrashing of Leeds United at Elland Road.
Their games against West Ham, Arsenal and Wolves all ended in defeats as Steven Gerrard's men slipped to 11th spot in the table.
A win could drag the Villans back into the top half of the standings, though considering their current form, a win does look unlikely.
Last time out
Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa (Premier League - October 3, 2021)
Last time these two sides clashed, it was an own goal which earned Tottenham all three points.
Pierre Hojbjerg scored the opener, before Ollie Watkins levelled the contest in the second-half.
With 20 minutes to go, Matt Targett found the back of his own net as Spurs ran out victorious.
Managers' thoughts:
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard shares his thoughts on Spurs: "Spurs are in great form and they've got a top-class manager. You have to remember that over the course of the season, Spurs aren't unbeatable.
"It wasn't so long ago that the manager was extremely frustrated because they had inconsistencies. Good team, good form, good players but not unbeatable."
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte on Harry Kane: "I think he deserves an important position in the world of football. I think Harry also he has the right age to show that he can be one of the best, best in the world and in history.
"He's already in history because he's scored a lot of goals for the club and the national team. He's of the right age to consolidate this and be one of the best. He's not typical in that he's a number nine and number 10. We try to exploit this characteristic.
"We are talking about a fantastic player. It's very difficult to improve him but we're trying to work and push him to the top ambition, to be the best striker."
Predicted Aston Villa vs Tottenham teams
There's lots of good news for Steven Gerrard as Marvelous Nakamba, Kortney Hause and Lucas Digne are all available for selection.
Danny Ings is likely to join that list after missing the previous fixture due to the birth of his child.
Douglas Luiz and Philippe Coutinho should also feature.
There's less good news for Conte who will be without Japhet Tanganga for the remainder of the season.
Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp are also unavailable for selection.
Possible Aston Villa starting line-up: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Coutinho; Ings, Watkins
Possible Tottenham starting line-up: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Doherty; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Aston Villa vs Tottenham prediction
Tottenham are currently in far better form and also enjoy a tremendous record away at Villa Park.
All signs point to an away victory however, with Villa welcoming back a number of players into the team, expect a close contest in Birmingham.
A one-goal win for Spurs is the way to go.
