Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa – the preview

Here is our match and betting preview for the game which sees Tottenham Hotspur welcome Aston Villa to White Hart Lane on Monday night in the Premier League. Below we have given you the latest news, football preview and betting tips.

Kick-off is at 20:00 and the referee is Mike Dean.

Recent form:

All statistics and match facts provided by Sbat.com.

Tottenham (Premier League) -WWDDW
Tottenham (home form) – DDWWD

Aston Villa (Premier League) – LLLLL
Aston Villa (away form) – WLLLL

Match preview:

Spurs have started this season very well, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League with seventeen points. Going into this match, the Londoners are on a nine match unbeaten run in the Premier League, not losing since their opening day defeat against Manchester United. From the nine games they have four wins and five draws. Last time out Tottenham got an impressive 1-5 victory away to Bournemouth. This will give them the boost they may need to overcome another team near the bottom of the table.

After a shaky start, star striker Harry Kane has found some form, bagging four goals in ten matches, which included a hat trick last time out against Bournemouth. Another player who is crucial to the Spurs team is attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen. In the seven games he has played this season he has four assists and two goals. Tottenham will be hoping to maintain their good run of form when Aston Villa visit on Monday night.

Aston Villa’s season has been one to forget. We are sitting at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League with only four points to our name. We started the season well, getting all three points on the opening day. Since then we have only picked up one point from nine matches. The poor run of form meant manager Tim Sherwood was sacked after Aston Villa lost six times on the bounce. While we look for a new manager, Kevin MacDonald will take charge of the squad. His first game in charge was in the Capital One Cup earlier this week when the Villans were beaten 2-1 by Southampton. Although the team lost, the players showed lots of fight right up until the last minute, when they managed to pull a goal back. Unfortunately, it was too late for us to get something out of the game. A man who will be key for Aston Villa in this fixture if the away side is to take anything from it is centre forward Rudy Gestede. So far this campaign he has three goals in ten matches, making himself the Villans’ top goal-scorer. He will need to stay sharp throughout the game and take chances if they come, as there probably won’t be many for Aston Villa.

Team news:

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino will be without six players for Monday night’s game with Federico Fazio out with a hamstring injury, Nacer Chadli suffering a foot injury, Heung-MinSon also out with a foot injury, Alex Pritchard and Nabil Bentaleb out with ankle injuries and Thomas Carroll out with just a knock.

Aston Villa’s caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald may be without two defenders: Joleon Lescott has picked up a knock and captain Micah Richards could be handed a suspension after admitting to a charge of improper conduct for clashing with Swansea City’s Federico Fernandez in the tunnel after last weekend’s match. It is unclear whether the FA will have reached a decision before Monday night’s match.

Possible line-up:

Guzan

Hutton     Clark     Richards     Amavi

Westwood     Gueye     Sinclair     Grealish

Ayew     Gestede

Betting preview:

Here are our predictions and tips for the game on Monday night. Spurs are on a great run of form, not losing in nine games in the Premier League. Last weekend, they beat Bournemouth emphatically in a 1-5 triumph, which will fill them with confidence going into this fixture. Harry Kane has hit form again after his hat-trick last time out, making him a huge threat for Tottenham Hotspur.

In sharp contrast, the Villans have had an awful season up to now. Within the last couple of weeks they have lost their manager and been knocked out of the Capital One Cup. Hopefully, the caretaker manager can instill some fight and confidence in the team for this game. I feel that if we can set up with two banks of four and frustrate Spurs they may struggle to break us down.

White Hart Lane has not been a happy hunting ground for the boys from B6, who failed to beat the home side in thirteen visits to the North London ground before Tim Sherwood celebrated a 0-1 victory over his former club on the Villans’ last visit to the Lane in April.

Match information:

Venue: White Hart Lane

Kick-off: 8p.m.

Referee: Mike Dean

Ticket availability: The away allocation has sold out

Last meeting: 11th April 2015 – Tottenham Hotspur 0 – Aston Villa 1

Predictions:

2-0 – Paul Merson

2-0 – Mark Lawrenson