Aston Villa return to Premier League action on Sunday with a home clash against Tottenham at Villa Park, as both sides continue their push towards very different ends of the table.
Villa come into this contest off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, while Tottenham secured a long-awaited league win with a narrow win over Wolves.
Villa remain firmly in the race for Champions League qualification through their league position, sitting comfortably inside the top five.
Tottenham, meanwhile, finally ended their prolonged winless run in the league with victory last time out, offering a glimmer of hope in their battle against relegation.
Despite that improvement, Spurs remain in the bottom three and are still two points from safety. Their away form has been relatively solid compared to their overall campaign, and they will take encouragement from recent performances as they aim to build momentum.
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Team news for Aston Villa v Tottenham
Aston Villa will be without Amadou Onana, who picked up a calf injury in midweek, while Boubacar Kamara also remains sidelined.
With one eye on their Europa League semi-final second leg, Emery could rotate his squad, potentially bringing in players such as Ian Maatsen, Jadon Sancho and Lamare Bogarde.
Tottenham have suffered a major blow with Xavi Simons ruled out for the season due to an ACL injury, while Dominic Solanke is also expected to miss out with a hamstring problem.
A number of other players remain unavailable, including Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario. However, Destiny Udogie could return to the squad after a recent knock.
Expected line-ups for Aston Villa v Tottenham
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Tielemans, Bogarde; Bailey, Rogers, Sancho; Watkins
Tottenham: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Bissouma; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison
The stats for Aston Villa v Tottenham
- Aston Villa have won their last four home matches
- Villa have won their last four meetings with Tottenham
- Tottenham ended a 15-match winless league run in their last game
- Spurs have taken four points from their last two matches
- Tottenham have scored and conceded 23 goals away from home this season
Prediction for Aston Villa v Tottenham
Tottenham are better under De Zerbi and could build on their recent improvement, while Villa may rotate with their European commitments in mind. A competitive draw looks likely.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham
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