After being on opposite ends of EFL Cup upsets, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa meet in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, in a clash of the Champions League contenders and pretenders.
Ange Postecoglou's men defied expectations to eliminate Manchester City from the EFL Cup on Wednesday, but their West Midlands counterparts were outwitted at home to Crystal Palace.
Match preview
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Flash back to the middle of September, after Spurs' North London derby loss to bitter rivals Arsenal, when a defiant Postecoglou affirmed that he "always" wins trophies in his second year in charge of a club - a statement history shows us is indeed true.
On Wednesday evening, the Australian took a huge step towards fulfilling that promise to the Tottenham faithful, when Timo Werner ended his profligate streak and Pape Sarr curled home a sublime finish from 25 yards to crush Manchester City's quadruple dreams.
Another mammoth Mancunian test versus Manchester United - likely to be under the wing of Ruben Amorim later this month - awaits Spurs in the quarter-finals, but rectifying the mistakes of their last Premier League outing is now Postecoglou's number one priority.
A toothless Tottenham did not deserve anything from their trip to a hitherto winless Crystal Palace in gameweek nine, and that is exactly what they got, as Jean-Philippe Mateta fired the Eagles to their first top-flight win of the season and left Spurs eighth in the standings.
The Lilywhites already have a five-point gap to make up to their fourth-placed visitors, but the shock beating of Man City in midweek represented their fifth straight home victory in all competitions; AZ Alkmaar, Qarabag, Brentford and West Ham United have all been victims of that streak too.
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Villa head coach Unai Emery - whose Arsenal connections means that he should not enjoy a warm welcome to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - can empathise with Postecoglou when it comes to being outfought by Crystal Palace, who rocked up to Villa Park and left with their name in the pot for the EFL Cup quarter-final draw.
Despite playing for the majority of the match without the two jewels in their crown - Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton - Palace struck first through the former before Daichi Kamada ensured that Jhon Duran's effort would prove meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
The final week of October will not be looked back on fondly by the Lions, who were also left to lament a last-minute Evanilson header in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, denying them the chance to leapfrog Arsenal into the top three of the rankings.
However, Emery's side - who only trail Arsenal on goal difference before the weekend's fixtures - have now gone seven without defeat in the top flight of English football and have excelled on the road all season long, winning five and drawing one of their six away matches in all tournaments.
Moreover, the Villans have scored at least twice in all of those games on rival territory and were 2-1 victors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November 2023, although Spurs then came away from Villa Park with a 4-0 win in March to end their three-match losing sequence in this fixture.
Team News
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Tottenham's triumph over Man City was not without sacrifice, as Micky van de Ven cut a tearful figure as he came off with another hamstring problem in the first half, one which will keep him out of this weekend's game and until after the international break.
However, Cristian Romero and Timo Werner should be fine despite also not managing to complete the full 90 in midweek, and there is also optimism that skipper Son Heung-min will be back from his thigh issue in time to start Sunday's game.
Djed Spence (groin) is less likely to make the cut, though, and Wilson Odobert (hamstring) is definitely out following a "serious" setback. As Van de Ven takes his place in the infirmary, Radu Dragusin will deputise at the back.
As Postecoglou awaits the green light on a few of his troops, upcoming visitors Aston Villa are expected to have a near clean bill of health for Sunday's tantalising affair, with Ross Barkley (unspecified) the only absentee.
Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara both made it through to the final whistle in midweek after their devastating knee injuries, but the pair should be among the players moved to the bench by Emery, who will revert to his strongest team despite the impending Champions League trip to Club Brugge.
Duran is still banging incredibly hard on Emery's door for a Premier League start, but talisman Ollie Watkins - omitted from the squad in midweek - will no doubt displace the Colombian at the tip of the attack here.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Aston Villa
Spurs and Villa's EFL Cup exploits should not be taken at face value, as a strong Lilywhites team squared up to a weakened City side, while Villa made numerous changes to meet Crystal Palace's A-team.
With Postecoglou's men proving near-flawless at home in recent weeks and Villa finding the net for fun on the road, Sunday's game should be a terrific watch for the neutrals, and we think this one has a high-scoring draw written all over it.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
