Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa – English Premier League – Preview

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Sreya

Tottenham Hotspur will welcome former manager Tim Sherwood and Aston Villa to White Hart Lane as Spurs try to overtake Liverpool to claim the Europa League berth. Just three points ahead of the relegation zone, Aston Villa are not yet completely out of the woods, but have fared much better since Sherwood took over.

Teams News & Formation

Kyle Walker picked up a foot injury in the second half of Tottenham’s game against Burnley on Sunday and Vlad Chirches is expected to replace him. Hugo Lloris has been listed as doubtful for the game and Michel Vorm may get a look-in into the starting XI. The Villains have a number of players missing due to injury, with Alan Hutton, Scott Sinclair and Ashley Westwood joining Chris Herd on the sidelines. While Libor Kozak has not yet regained match fitness, Aly Cissokho and Philipe Senderos will face late fitness tests before the afternoon fixture on Saturday.

Pochettino has favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation in his time at the White Hart Lane. Chadli and Townsend will flank Eriksen, who has featured in the hole behind Harry Kane. Sherwood is likely to setup his side in a 4-3-1-2 with Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor up front. The young Jack Grealish might keep his place in the team after an excellent showing against Queens Park Rangers.

Key Players

Harry Kane, the joint Premier League top scorer with 19 goals, has been the go-to-guy for Spurs all season. Kane has not just been the key to unlocking opposition defences, but his link-up play and vision has also elevated the performances from Chadli and Townsend. With Pochettino employing a high-pressing system, Kane’s partnership with Eriksen has been the primary creative outlet for the Spurs side.

Jores Okore, the young Dane centre half ought to play a crucial role, if Sherwood must beat his former team. The 21-year-old has been the mainstay in a struggling Aston Villa defence (which has conceded 45 goals) averaging 2.1 tackles and 3.1 interceptions every game. Christian Benteke is the in-form player for Aston Villa with 7 goals from last five matches, that includes a hattrick against Queens Park Rangers last week. The Spurs defence hasn’t been particularly convincing (also conceding 45 goals over the course of the season) and the likes of Vertonghen and Dier may find it dificult to contain Benteke’s hot streak.

Free Prediction

Both teams are coming off a draw, Aston Villa played a high-scoring match against Queens Park Rangers while Spurs played out an insipid 0-0 affair at Burnley. Although Tim Sherwood has been able to spark the Aston Villa team to put up better performances in recent times, Tottenham Hotspur is likely to knick this one by a 3-1 margin.