Aston Villa vs. Tottenham: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News
Tottenham have experienced a rough week.
Defeat at West Ham and a disappointing home draw against Arsenal were followed by a Europa League hammering at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
Back in the Premier League now, Spurs need to win.
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Fortunately for them, their opposition is the weakest that the division can provide, Aston Villa.
The Villans are rock-bottom, eight points from the next club on the ladder and seemingly all but relegated already.
Tottenham have the opportunity to get back to their best against a vastly inferior opponent.
Team News
In more good news for Spurs, they have a virtually full-strength squad for this fixture. Only the long-term absentee duo of Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie are unavailable, according to the official club site.
The return of a host of star players who sat out all or most of the Dortmund debacle should inject the requisite quality to escape Villa Park with three points.
For Villa, Jack Grealish, Libor Kozak and Carlos Sanchez are all doubtful while Adama Traore is not fit, according to Villa's site.
Both Grealish and Kozak have ankle issues, and Sanchez is troubled by a hamstring.
It seems unlikely that Remi Garde would risk pushing his players when there are more winnable fixtures on the horizon.
Form Lines
Spurs
Dortmund 3-0 Spurs
Spurs 2-2 Arsenal
West Ham 1-0 Spurs
Spurs 2-1 Swansea
Spurs 3-0 Fiorentina
Villa
Man City 4-0 Villa
Villa 1-3 Everton
Stoke 2-1 Villa
Villa 0-6 Liverpool
Villa 2-0 Norwich
Predicted Lineups
Spurs
Goalkeeper - Hugo Lloris
Defence - Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Danny Rose
Midfield - Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele
Attack - Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Harry Kane
Villa
Goalkeeper - Brad Guzan
Defence - Alan Hutton, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Ciaran Clark
Midfield - Jordan Veretout, Ashley Westwood, Idrissa Gueye
Attack - Scott Sinclair, Rudy Gestede, Jordan Ayew
Players to Watch
Rudy Gestede has been a relative bright spot in a disastrous season for Villa. The lanky target man is a powerful header of the ball and well supported by the talented wide attacking pair of Sinclair and Ayew.
Spurs have been exploited by other aerially powerful attackers this season, and Gestede, also Villa's leading scorer, could repeat that trick.
Tottenham have a number of key players returning to the lineup for this fixture but perhaps none more important than Dembele.
When the Belgian plays well, Spurs dominate the ball, control the game and usually win.
Garde will attempt to disrupt his rhythm by overloading central areas with bodies, but Dembele has the quality to navigate that approach and exploit the space it creates in other areas.
Dembele can be the match-winner for Tottenham in this one.
Key Battle
The biggest battle in this match will be between the force of history and Spurs' nascent steely determination.
Mauricio Pochettino has done much to improve the mental strength of his team in his time as manager, and that has been apparent in how well they've responded to setbacks this season.
Defeats or poor performances have invariably been followed up with a response, and that is just what is required against a team like Aston Villa.
If Spurs can take control early, Villa will fold and hand over the points willingly. That's a tone they've set all season.
However, Tottenham have spent decades squandering good work and losing the winnable games, and such a result here would be catastrophic to their title aspirations.
Odds
Spurs are not the shortest-priced favourites in action on Sunday; that honour goes to Arsenal in their FA Cup tie against West Brom. Tottenham are, however, very short to win. Odds Shark has the visitors at 16/10 on.
Villa are almost 5/1 outsiders to spring a surprise.
The over/under market is set at 2.5 goals, and while this fixture sees the league's third-highest scorers facing the worst defence, backing the under could be a shrewd bet here.
Villa were eviscerated by both Manchester City and Liverpool in recent weeks, and they'll likely be unwilling to risk another hammering.
The conservative approach could even see this match decided by the odd goal.
Live Stream, TV Info
UK: Match not televised. Radio coverage available through BBC Radio from 4 p.m.
USA: NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra, 11 a.m. ET
Ticket News
For ticket information on all Premier League games, visit the official site or go to the ticket page on the home club's official website. Secondary ticket information for Villa can be found here.
