Tottenham v Aston Villa Match Preview (Premier League)
By Logan Holmes
Tottenham meet Aston Villa at White Hart Lane hoping to maintain their undefeated run stretching back to the opening day of the season but wanting to improve on both their home form and their performances. Villa will be looking for their first away win of the season and and improvement in their overall form which has seen them take only five points from the first six matches.
Last Season:
Nov. 2011 (h) PL Won 2 – 0 Adebayor (2)
Two first half goals from Emmanuel Adebayor gave Spurs the three points they required to move into third position in the Premier League. The two goal margin, however, doesn’t tell the full story of Tottenham’s dominance throughout the ninety minutes and Villa were relieved to have got off so lightly. Adebayor, himself missed many scoring opportunities and could have had six.
Team: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Parker, Modric (Sandro), Bale; Van der Vaart (Defoe), Adebayor Subs (unused): Cudicini, Gallas, Bassong, Pienaar, Dos Santos.
Premier League Home Record against Aston Villa:
P 20 W 9 D 7 L 4 For 30 Ag 22
Home League Record against Villa (inc. PL)
P 69 W 35 D 14 L 22 For 133 Ag 102
Recent Home Games against Villa
Oct. 2010 PL Won 2 – 1 Van der Vaart (2)
Villa went ahead after sixteen minutes through Albrighton but Van der Vaart equalised before the interval. He scored the winner with fifteen minutes remaining.
Feb. 2010 PL Draw 0 – 0
Villa frustrated Spurs with a tight defensive display with Friedel playing his part as they earned a point.
Sept. 2008 PL Lost 1 – 2 Bent
The Monday night televised match in the early stages of Tottenham’s ‘two points from 8 games’ start to the season under Juande Ramos. Reo-Coker scored after five minutes for Villa and Luke Young who started his career with Spurs before moving to Charlton, increased their lead early in the second half. Darren Bent scored a consolation goal with three minutes remaining.
Aston Villa
Although Aston Villa appointed a new manager during the summer, Paul Lambert moving from Norwich City, this season has continued in a similar vein to last when their draw against Tottenham in the final home match helped secure their Premier League safety while denying Spurs the chance of Champions League football. Villa have won only three of their last 25 Premier League matches.
Villa’s season opened with a single goal defeat at Upton Park before losing 1 -3 at home to Everton. Villa earned their first point in a 1 – 1 draw at Newcastle and they followed that with a 2 – 0 home win over Swansea who had made an impressive start to the season. Their next game was a heavy defeat at Southampton where having taken a first half lead, they conceded four second half goals as the home team recorded their first Premier League win since promotion.
Having defeated Tranmere by three goals in the Capital One Cup they followed their Southampton defeat with a morale-boosting win at the Etihad Stadium, defeating Manchester City 4 – 2 after extra time. Last weekend they drew at home with West Bromwich Albion where Darren Bent came of the bench to equalise with ten minutes remaining.
Darren Bent is Villa’s leading scorer with 3 goals. The ex-Tottenham player who was appointed Villa captain at the start of the season is always fired up when playing against Spurs although in last season’s fixture at White Hart Lane he posed little threat. He will again feel he has a point to prove, this time to his own manager who dropped him for last week’s match and it would give Bent great delight to do it against Tottenham.
Agbonlahor who replaced Bent last weekend has scored twice.
Villa’s team is a mixture of experience and young players who have progressed through the Academy. Their most experienced absentees are Richard Dunne and Stephen Ireland.
Tottenham
Andre Villas-Boas has made few changes to his first team, showing loyalty to those in possession. He is unlikely to make many alterations for this game although he now has Emmanuel Adebayor available for selection after injury. He will probably resort to his favoured starting line-up with Brad Friedel, William Gallas and Sandro returning to the team following the draw again Panathinaikos in Greece.
Could he take a more attacking approach for this home game against Villa with Emmanuel Adebayor replacing Clint Dempsey, to start with Jermain Defoe?
A win for Tottenham would give them 14 points to put them level with Everton and West Bromwich Albion. A four goal margin would put them ahead of the Goodision Park club on goal difference, with Everton currently sitting in third position, one point behind Manchester City. Manchester United who visit Newcastle know that a win would put them level on points with City. It’s quite some time since Spurs have had a really convincing home win, it would be good to have it today, but the main objective is to ensure the three points are secured ahead of another international break.